To suggest because the wealth stealing scheme of Soc Security had been raised 20, 30 or 100 times prior is meaningless to the reality that RR raised them again...Thus only further burdening another generation to this wealth stealing scheme (mandated by Gov't).
Additionally pointing out that he increased the retirement age to 67....Is just further increasing the amount wealth that is being stolen from each and every American. Why should a person have to wait longer to get a ROI. That is just the Gov't further stealing wealth from individuals and families (it is not any kind of plus as you seem to be suggesting).
R.R held the Senate by a large majority and gave amnesty to all illegals (sans those from 83-84)....This when the situation was at a much more manageable level. Yet, they (he) took the easy route....(but we'll just say it was a mistake...and he's still a great conservative). Got it.
Again, one standard for RR and another much higher one for GWB. Both issues of Soc Sec and immigration were at much more manageable levels in the 80s.....They weren't dealt with, they were simply pushed down the line to become bigger problems (and done some from a LIB stand point to boot....But gotcha, RR was a true conservative...GWB is not).
You must be a member of DENSA. What choice did Reagan have? If he allowed SS to continue paying out more than it was taking in, he would have to come up with the money to cover the shortfall. How? He would have to start redeeming the worthless IOUs [non-market T-bills] in the SS Trust Fund by borrowing real money, which would not only increase the national debt and debt servicing costs, but also cut into general revenue funds. In 1983, Reagan was in the middle of trying to rebuild the US military after years of neglect. There was no way that Reagan could have changed the SS system and he still had to pay people their benefits. Reagan was a pragmatist who used to say that he would negotiate to get half a loaf now and come back later for the rest. He would have also been commiting political suicide by refusing to fund SS. And he knew that he had to work with Tip to get his agenda through.
You need to do your homework on SS.
Again, one standard for RR and another much higher one for GWB.
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Bush with his buddy Ted Kennedy who was also behind the 1986 and 1965 bills was about to destroy this country by legalizing the status of 12 to 20 million illegals who would then be eligible to bring in thru chain migration another 30 to 60 million other LEGAL immigrants in the form of spouses, children, and parents.
When Reagan provided amnesty in 1986, it was estimated that 1 million people would apply. In fact, 3 million applied. Today, we really don't know how many are even here. How anyone can make good public policy without reliable data is beyond my comprehension. Even without this bill, the Bureau of the Census projects the population of the US to grow by 62 million in the next 23 years, i.e., by 2030, to 364 million. This is the equivalent of adding the current population of the UK. And by 2050, the projection is 420 million. If the Senate bill had passed, these projections would be grossly understated.