Or at least, Reagan started the process that others - Democrats and Republicans - continued and extended. None of this could have been possible without the assistance of large numbers on both sides. Krugman on opening up debt during the Reagan years:All this, we were assured, was a good thing: sure, Americans were piling up debt, and they weren’t putting aside any of their income, but their finances looked fine once you took into account the rising values of their houses and their stock...