Before delving into the specifics, it is important to mention that Ronald Reagan was president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was the fortieth president of the United States. Prior to the presidency, he had been an actor and governor of California 1 . Reagan’s presidency came at a time when Americans, especially the poor, were facing a lot of economic hardships. In an attempt to change the situation, Reagan’s domestic policy agenda focused on reducing taxes, withdrawing support from social welfare programs, balancing the budget, and giving state governments more powers. Briefly, Reagan wanted to do away with liberal social policies.
Cutting of taxes came as a source of relief especially to the top earners. Reagan believed that if taxes were reduced, there would be more spending. As a result, the money would trickle down to the middle class as well as the poor, thus simulating the economy. Therefore, Reagan reduced funding for many social welfare programs such as the food stamp programs. Consequently, spending for the welfare programs was cut by over $20 billion a year 2 . Secondly, the Reagan administration cut taxes to an extent where the government was hardly collecting any income revenue.
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Perhaps the most crucial question is, despite the tax cuts, how was the government affording to fund crucial services in the country. For instance, there was increased military spending because the military was constantly being deployed to other countries to fight rebels as well as maintain peace 3 . It emerged that Reagan relied on immense borrowing to provide the crucial services. At the end of his term, Reagan had left such a high public debt that it became a subject of debate for the next presidential aspirants.
In summary, President Reagan’s main goal was to reduce the interference of the government in people’s affairs. Top earners also thought that the high taxes were discouraging and hampering their growth. President Reagan succeeded in convincing the Congress to approve his policies but he left behind a huge national debt, which would have to be paid by other administrations.
Bibliography
History TV. 2018. “Ronald Reagan”. History TV . Accessed June 30 2018. https://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/ronald-reagan .
Hudson, Cheryl, and Gareth Davies. 2008. Ronald Reagan and the 1980s: perceptions, policies, legacies . New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Starr-Deelen, Donna G. 2014. Presidential policies on terrorism: from Ronald Reagan to Barack Obama . http://public.eblib.com/choice/publicfullrecord.aspx?p=1699336.
1 History TV. 2018. “Ronald Reagan”. History TV . Accessed June 30 2018. https://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/ronald-reagan
2 Hudson, Cheryl, and Gareth Davies. 2008. Ronald Reagan and the 1980s: perceptions, policies, legacies . New York: Palgrave Macmillan
3 Starr-Deelen, Donna G. 2014. Presidential policies on terrorism: from Ronald Reagan to Barack Obama . http://public.eblib.com/choice/publicfullrecord.aspx?p=1699336.
