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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: E. T. who wrote (188727)	10/3/2001 4:31:45 PM
From: H-Man	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769667

Economics l0l, A True-False Test THE l980s: A DECADE OF GREED? by Ralph R. Reiland Regarding the l980s, answer whether the following statements are True or False: From l982 to l989, l9 million net new jobs were created in the United States (more than the number of jobs created in Europe and Japan combined), two-thirds of them high or middle paying, resulting in the lowest unemployment rate in l6 years. The economic growth that flowed from the Reagan tax cuts increased federal tax revenues in the l980s by $1.1 trillion. These additional federal tax revenues contributed to the reduction of the federal deficit from 6.3% of GDP in l983 to 2.9% in l989 (a Congress loaded with pork peddlers and a press filled with reporters crying about "ketchup as a vegetable" blocked greater spending cuts). Presidents Kennedy and Reagan both enacted supply-side tax cuts on top income earners and job creators and produced the two longest economic expansions in American history. The Kennedy plan dropped the top marginal income tax rate from 91% to 70%; Reagan reduced the top rate to 28%. The Reagan tax cuts trickled down to produce a 76% jump in new business investment in real (adjusted for inflation) dollars in the l980s and tripled the rate of productivity growth. Real per capita after-tax income rose by l9% in the l980s, nearly double the rate of the l970s. Real family income increased every year from l983 through l990 in every income group (from the poorest fifth of households to the richest fifth). The real income in the bottom fifth of the income distribution increased by 12% in the l980s, reversing a 17% slide between l979 and l983. 86% of the tax filers in the poorest fifth of families in l980 moved out of that bottom quintile by l988 (l6% moved all the way to the top fifth of income earners). Real median income increased by 5% between l982 and l988 for those who started in the top fifth of income earners, and increased 77% for those who started in the bottom fifth (primarily by moving out of that bottom quintile). Real family income declined each year from l979 until l982, and declined each year since l99l --- the Reagan terms, sandwiched between these two periods of shrinking income, produced a real increase of $4,877 in median family annual real income. Since l988, the typical American household has lost over $2,000 in real annual income, and the degree of income inequality is now at a post-World War II high. After growing nationwide by 7 million people during the late l970s, the poverty population declined by 4 million during the l980s; reversing this downward trend, poverty in the 90's is on the rise again. The top income tax rate was reduced from 70% to 28% in the '80s, but the top 5% of all earners paid more, increasing their share of all federal income taxes paid from 36% in l980 to 43% in l990. In the l980s, the percentage of African-American families earning more than $50,000 in real dollars doubled from 7 to l4%, the unemployment rate for black teenagers fell by 21%, and black employment in professional and managerial jobs expanded by one-third. After declining 10% between 1978 and 1982, the real median income of black families increased by 17% between l982 and 1989. From l982 to 1987, the number of black-owned businesses increased by 38%, triple the overall business growth rate during that period. The number of new Hispanic-owned businesses soared by 81%. The median weekly earnings of female workers grew 8% faster than male earnings in the l980s, and women entrepreneurs ended the decade employing more people than all of the Fortune 500 companies combined. The number of women-owned firms expanded by 57% in the '80s and the sales volume of woman-owned firms tripled. Following the double digit annual inflation rates of 11.3%, 13.5% and 10.3% in the Carter years --- an escalation of prices that was especially hard on the poorest families --- the annual inflation rate averaged 3.9% in the two Reagan terms. Note: All answers are true. All information is based on Labor Department and Census Bureau studies.

To: E. T. who wrote (188727)	10/3/2001 4:45:54 PM
From: Neocon	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769667

Actually, Reagan's policies helped to bring peace to Central America, by forcing all parties to abide by elections in several countries. In addition, he created the conditions for the downfall of the Soviet bloc, a big bonus. He smoothed the downfall of Ferdinand Marcos, contained Iranian expansion, and helped to lead to a peaceful conclusion of white rule in South Africa.

To: E. T. who wrote (188727)	10/3/2001 5:20:43 PM
From: Thomas A Watson	Respond to of 769667

A New Voice for America It's past time to fix Clinton's damage at VOA. Wednesday, October 3, 2001 12:01 a.m. EDT In times of trouble, America's international broadcasting services can be worth their weight in gold. The Voice of America, with a global reach in some 53 languages, is uniquely positioned to tell America's story to the world--which is why it needs to be revitalized after years of neglect. During its inaugural broadcast in 1942, VOA promised the people of Hitler's Germany that whether the coming news was good or bad, "we shall tell you the truth." Today VOA has the job of telling the whole world what America stands for in the war against international terrorism. So it comes as good news that the Bush Administration wants to fill the empty director's chair at VOA with a seasoned journalist and broadcaster who doesn't need on-the-job training. For a decade, Bob Reilly has been the host of VOA's premier foreign policy radio and TV talk show, "On the Line," and author of numerous editorials outlining U.S. policy for millions of listeners abroad. He also handled foreign policy and national defense issues in the Reagan White House Office of Public Liaison and has extensive contacts on Capitol Hill. Change can't come soon enough. It's worse than bad luck that VOA found itself at this critical juncture without a leader. The position of VOA director, like so many other Administration appointments, fell into the black hole of backlogs after last year's endless election. Rudderless except for a gaggle of bureaucrats, VOA has stumbled several times since September 11; for instance, by broadcasting interviews with the leader of an Egyptian terrorist organization and with members of a small radical group in Indonesia without informing listeners of their background or providing context for their bellicose remarks. The worst gaffe was VOA's decision last week to air parts of an interview with the leader of the Taliban, Mullah Mohammed Omar. The State Department tried to block the broadcast, arguing that it wasn't America's job to give air time to the host of Osama bin Laden. But VOA went ahead--claiming that it was its journalistic duty to offer Afghans and other listeners balanced points of view. Well, nothing Omar said to Afghans was news; they hear his rants every day on the radio and TV he controls. And far from convincing Afghans of the wondrous nature of America's free press, VOA just sent them a confusing mixed message: Does the U.S. want us to rise up and oppose this guy, or not? There will always be room for argument about how and what any news service reports in wartime. But the VOA is not "60 Minutes"; it is a service paid for by American taxpayers. What VOA has needed since September 11 is a leader who can reconcile its charter obligation to observe the highest journalistic standards with its mandate to represent America to the world. No matter how hard the new director works, though, he comes to a VOA beaten down by years of mishandling. Starting in 1996, the Clinton Administration systematically dismantled the Radio's capacity to produce sustained, in-depth programming about American institutions. For example, over the past five years, VOA has lost its capacity to produce documentary series for translation, such as the ones that might be so useful now about the terror groups that solicit donations from unsuspecting Muslims around the world. The attitude during the Clinton years was that, as U.S. Information Agency chief Joseph Duffy once put it, America should stop talking so much to the world, and listen more. A rule banning broadcasts longer than five or so minutes has since been relaxed, but VOA today is little more than a jumble of "news" shows. It lacks centrally produced scripts to help understaffed language services put out programming on the American experience. With its many dedicated broadcasters, VOA has the talent to make this its finest hour. The new director must safeguard their freedom as journalists, while also assuring taxpayers that VOA will once again truly be America's voice to the world. opinionjournal.com tom watson tosiwmee