(single mom and children roughing it for real in a spacious Econoline Van - 1983)

In the deep, dark recesses of the 1980's, I stumbled across a "Saturday Radio Talk" by President Reagan From February 5, 1983 in which he goes at length to define the term "Reaganomics". Sometimes referred to as "Voodoo Economics", but nonetheles an interesting explanation coming from the "Horse's Mouth" as it were.

In retrospect, it's an interesting view of what was a bad situation then, painted in bright rhetorical colors and catchy phrases, but ultimately leaving more questions than answers as far as history is concerned.

For example, I was completely unaware our Armed Forces were considered part of the work force and figured into what was determined to be an uptick in the unemployment figure of the time, which the Reagan administration took credit for dropping from 10.8% to 10.4%. Could the administration surmise that, because of an upsurge in enlistments as the result of the Beirut Bombings of 1982, the unemployment rate was lower? Strange logic.

But with the blizzard of upbeat proclamations and winning phrases, who could tell?

Perhaps the ones who simply vanished from the unemployment rolls when the benefits ran out.

Welcome to 1983:

(President Reagan, Saturday Radio Talk - February 5, 1983)