The real interest rate under Reagan

This is the ten year rate, DC'c cost of money, minus the implicit price deflator, YoY. It gives us a measure of the real rate of interest, interest paid in units of real stuff.

Now Reagan took office in Q1 1981, and that is when real rates took off. His first major act, cuttting taxes across the board in August 1981. And waddya know, rates took off and the deficit doubled.

We spent 12 years under Republican regimes paying huge interest rates while driving up debt.  Those Republicans are a stupid lot.

Anyway, the reason I bring it up is that real rates for the US government seem to be closer to 2-2.5%. Republicans nearly bankrupted the government, actually.