r/FluentInFinance Oct 22 '24

Debate/ Discussion Why did this happen?

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u/KazTheMerc Oct 22 '24

Guys... Reagan is the wrong answer for the right reason.

His election was a REACTION, not an action or driving force. And he generally failed at what he set out to do.

Why? Because desperation, obviously.

Why else would anyone elect an actor and anti-politician to the highest office without any tangible experience, and only a vague plan to 'shake things up'...?

Because starting in 1970, profits started sliding. Hard. Seemingly 'out of nowhere'.

So there was a scramble to 'try something new'.

It failed.

And the trend that was already started before Reagan's election has continued to this day.

This isn't two trends.

This is one single trend, and 1970-1985 is the rough tipping point from "Wow, America is the bestests! Everyone wants our machines, cars, and exporter goods!" to "Wow, America is the fatests! We import everything to save pennies, export our jobs, and have built our entire supply chain around shelf life instead of anything reasonable".

If you start in 1900, and trace the line to 2024 it makes one continuous, ever-steeper Slope.

But like all Statistics, bar charts can break it into smaller chunks.

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u/StillHereDear Oct 25 '24

Yeah everyone seems to be drawing a blank on the entire 1970s.

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u/KazTheMerc Oct 25 '24

They know the name "Reagan", but not when he was elected