How seed of revolution are quietly sown..<The dramatic tax cuts of his first year did not bring the swift soaring of production, and therefore of revenues, that he had been led to expect; instead, it was the budget and trade deficits that soared—a trend that is once again fashionable under George W Bush. Reagan’s presidency ended with inflation down but public spending taking almost as big a share of GDP as eight years earlier. No Reagan revolution here, it seemed.
Yet in fact the seeds of the revolution had been sown. Reagan persuaded his opponents that his goals should be their goals too—an economy wedded to enterprise, not corporatism, a flexible labour force, and a welfare policy the next generation would be able to afford. The revolution had come, after all, and had converted its enemies. Reagan made safe the way for Bill Clinton, just as in Britain Margaret Thatcher did for Tony Blair. And now the green shoots of the same revolution can be seen in Italy and Spain, and tomorrow may shyly show themselves even in Germany and France.> |
