Martin_Hyde:
Another instance he points out is the 2008-09 crash of the subprime mortgage market and the resultant great recession, an event which, again, confounded almost all the experts of the time. The narratives around this event are not quite as well formed yet, in part because different partisan groups have developed different narratives. However, a popular narrative that emerged quickly explains it all as being the end of a chain of decisions starting with Ronald Reagan’s deregulatory instincts in the early 1980s. The nice thing about this narrative is it allows people who are prone to do so, to lay blame at the feet of Republicans and big business.
I agree with a lot of what you posted, but there is a nitpick here, While Reagan played a part, I do remember that part of the blame landed on President Clinton and the way he listened to the neo-liberals and past economists that wanted to continue the removal of regulations to the banks.
As smiling_bandit and others commented then:
No, it didn’t start with Clinton. It was a combination of dozens, or even hundreds of factors - many of them positive things. Numerous politicans contributed, sometimes without even recognizing they were dealing with some economic issue.
It started with Reagan. He wanted the foot of regulation off the neck of business. He started the process continued with relish by every repub since. Clinton is responsible for NAFTA. He also signed the Gramm bill gutting Glass /Steagall. That is bad enough.