Leading up to the year 1981, America had fallen into a period of “stagflation”, a portmanteau for ‘stagnant economy’ and ‘high inflation’. Characterized by high taxes, high unemployment, high interest rates, and low national spirit, America needed to look to something other than Keynesian economics to pull itself out of this low. During the election of 1980, Ronald Reagan’s campaign focused on a new stream of economic policy. His objective was to turn the economy into “a healthy, vigorous, growing economy [which would provide] equal opportunities for all Americans, with no barriers born of bigotry or discrimination.” Reagan’s policy, later known as ‘Reaganomics’, entailed a four-point plan which cut taxes, reduced government spending, created anti-inflationary policy, and deregulated certain products. Though ‘Reaganomics’ was successful both at controlling “stagflation” and promoting economic growth, it has and always will be an extremely controversial topic regarding the redistribution of wealth. Immediately after being sworn into office, Reagan implemented the first of many tax cuts. The Economic Recovery Tax Act passed in 1981 took 20% off taxes from top income levels and 25% off taxes from all lower income levels. Additional tax cuts, enforced in 1986, lowered taxes for those with high incomes by another 28% and those with lower incomes by 15%. These cuts were enacted based on the principle that tax breaks for the upper echelon of society would encourage investment and spending, creating new jobs for lower income individuals. Though these acts helped America during an economic low, they had consequences which are still being felt today. During Reagan’s presidency the distribution of wealth shifted unfairly towards individuals... ... middle of paper ... ... the one to maneuver us out of a situation we had never been in. Works Cited "American President: Ronald Wilson Reagan: Impact and Legacy." Miller Center. University of Virginia, n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2013. Auxier, Richard C. "Reagan's Recession." Pewresearch.org. Pew Research Center RSS, 14 Dec. 2010. Web. 13 Nov. 2013. Bartlett, Bruce. "Why the Reagan Tax Cut Worked in 1981 and Why It Wouldn't Work Today." Stan Collender's Capital Gains and Games. CapitalGainsandGames.com, 13 Aug. 2011. Web. 14 Nov. 2013. "LIFE AND TIMES." REAGANFOUNDATION.ORG. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2013. "Reaganomics." Ushistory.org. Independence Hall Association in Philadelphia, n.d. Web. 12 Nov. 2013. "Reaganomics: What We Learned." Consortiumnews. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2013. Viksnins, George J. "Reaganomics After Twenty Years." Georgetown.edu. Georgetown University, n.d. Web. 12 Nov. 2013.
Johnson led America in a time of many social movements, and the power of the Civil Rights Movement only added to the importance of passing the Civil Rights Act as soon as possible. Now that the inequality and injustice of minorities was brought to attention, Johnson had the power and motivation to put the Great Society reforms into action, which Democrats had been working towards since President Roosevelt and his New Deal programs. Reagan, however, was president during a time of greed. Reagan came into office during a poor time for the economy, and the upper and middle class Americans were more upset about their taxes being spent on poor Americans through welfare programs. There was also concern for people taking advantage of these programs. Reagan reflected these views and used his views on deregulation of businesses and tax cuts to benefit his supporters in the wealthy portion of Americans. With the passing of several laws benefitting minorities in America, social movements had faded from public view while America’s unrest had subsided, and Reagan didn’t need to have a strong support of civil rights. When the economy eventually rebounded due to Reagan’s economic policies, the success of wealthy businessmen brought about even more greed as the small portion of upper class Americans showed enjoyed luxuries and reaped the benefits of less social
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Library. “The Second American Revolution: Reaganomics.” Reagan Foundation. http://www.reaganfoundation.org/economic-policy.aspx (accessed May 2, 2014).
From War to Prosperity: 1940 - 1980. (2008, November 20). In Land of Contrast: A History of
When President Reagan took office, the U.S. was on the back end of the economic prosperity World War 2 had created. The U.S. was experiencing the highest inflation rates since 1947 (13.6% in 1980), unemployment rates reaching 10% in 1982, and nonexistent increases GDP. To combat the recession the country was experiencing, President Reagan implemented the beginning stages of trickle down economics – which was a short-term solution aimed to stimulate the economy. Taxes in the top bracket dropped from 70% to 28% while GDP recovered. However, this short-term growth only masked the real problem at hand.
President Ronald Reagan had a huge impact on our country and the rest of the world while serving as the 40th president of the United States of America. Our country exhibited peace through strength to nations everywhere. The American people prospered economically with less government intervention. Crime rates dropped dramatically and family values were restored. Ronald Wilson Reagan will go down in history as a great president of the United States of America.
The Web. The Web. 22 March 2014. Lizza, Ryan. The.
In coming to conclusion, I believe that Reaganomics were a success. After his two terms in the White House, he lowered the unemployment rate to 5.4% and in 1986 further reduced the marginal tax rate from 70% to 28%. He also expressed that his worst accomplishment was that he let the national debt rise too high. Letting it go from $997 billion to $2.85 trillion; the US was known as the international creditor, now becoming the largest debtor. I think these three references have similarity because they all seem to express bad ideas that surfaced during the 1980's. Having even the slightest amount of growth, I believe Reaganomics had good intentions behind it and that Mr. Reagan did everything he could to help the US economy; even if it resulted in more debt.
Ronald Reagan was the true political icon of the twentieth century. The former president is one of the most beloved in American history, and was one of the most respected by foreign nations. Ronald Reagan’s political influence was unprecedented and changed the course of international history.
There was general prosperity in America following the Second World War, however in the 1970s inflation rose, productivity decreased, and corporate debt increased. Individual incomes slipped as oil prices raised. Popular dissent surrounding the economic crisis helped Reagan win the 1980 election under promises to lower taxes, deregulate, and bring America out of stagnation. Many New Right supporters put their faith in him to change the system. To start his tenure, Reagan passed significant tax cuts for the rich to encourage investment. Next he passed the Economy Recovery Tax Act that cut tax rates by 25% with special provisions that favored business. Reagan’s economic measures were based on his belief in supply-side economics, which argued that tax cuts for the wealthy and for business stimulates investment, with the benefits eventually tricking down to the popular masses. His supply-side economic policies were generally consistent with the establishment’s support of free market, ...
Ronald Reagan was the president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. His major campaign was directed to political, personal, and moral responsibility of the Democratic Party leadership and he pledged to restore the Federal Government. “Reagan Republicanism attracted middle-class suburbanites and migrants to...social welfare spending.” He was also very straightforward in his policies and plans. “The emerging Republican coalition was joined by a large and electorally key group of former Democrats that had been gradually moving toward the Republican Party…”10
The best era in recent history for middle-income and lower-income American families was the Reagan era, which lasted from 1982 to 1989. During that period, middle-class families saw their real incomes grow by an average of 12.6 percent, while lower income families saw an average increase in real earnings of 12.9 percent.
Pascall, Glenn R., and Robert D. Lamson. Beyond Guns & Butter: Recapturing America's Economic Momentum after a Military Decade. Washington: Brassey's, 1991. Print.
· Oliver, M., 'The Conservative years: A Revolution in Economic Policy?', from Economic Review, 14(4), (1997)
Web. The Web. The Web. 14 May 2014. Stanley, Jay.