The election of Ronald Reagan to presidency in 1980 was a big victory for conservationists. Some of the most famous domestic policies by President Reagan addressed tax cuts and the other economic policies that came to be famously known as Reagonomics. These economic policies were anchored on the reduction of capital gains and income tax, the reduction in the government regulations on the economy, cut down on government spending and control money supply to curb inflation (Jacobs, Meg, & Julian, 118). Notably, Reagan fired nearly 12,000 striking air control workers instead of increasing their pay in line with the austerity measures his administration had adopted.
Reagan advocated for federalism and encouraged private businesses. He also introduced price controls on oil a move which managed to remedy the energy crises witnessed in the 1970s. He also made significant efforts in the fight against drug abuse in the United States. On the social front, Reagan introduced new policies opposed to abortion. In line with reduced government expenditure, he introduced several programs that reduced government assistance to children, mothers and minorities (Jacobs, Meg, & Julian, 138). After falling out with women voters, Reagan tried to appease them by appointing a woman- Sandra Day O’Connor to the Supreme Court.
When Ronald Reagan became president, he had one major foreign policy; to contain the Soviet Union. He wanted to control the USSR from expanding and drawing in non-communist countries such as Afghanistan into the Union. Reagan believed that the Soviet Union was using the Strategic Arms Limitations Talks (SALT) and détente to prepare a strike on US defensive systems (Jacobs, Meg, & Julian, 179). He spent billions of US dollars on defense contracts to develop and research on new weapons among other improvements of the military system. Excessive expenditure on the military and the cold war with the Soviet Union led to the national deficit in the 1980s.
In the implementation of domestic policies, Reagan failed to appease and streamline the economy as he had envisioned. His withdrawal of government support on social welfare programs led to declined popularity of his administration among African-Americans, women and minority groups who were the main beneficiaries of the programs. He managed to cut taxes which temporarily pleased Americans but this move meant the government could not fund services it offered to the citizens. Although he managed to reduce government expenditure on social support programs, Reagan ironically diverted the expenditure to the military and defense. Inability of the government revenue to equal expenditure contributed to massive borrowing which increased the US national debt by almost $1 trillion (Jacobs, Meg, & Julian, 110). Reagan’s policies plunged America got into deep economic recession; inflation soared and many Americans lost their jobs. Reagonomics came to be summed up as voodoo economics and many people agitated for change of government at the end of Reagan’s second term.
Though Reagan’s presidency witnessed some progress such as correcting the energy crisis of the 1970s and reduction in drug abuse in US, there was no significant revolution. When he reduced taxes to near zero, the popularity he gained was momentary as his core economic policies backfired and left the US in a worse economic situation than when he assumed office. Reagan’s tenure was also marked by historical economic catastrophes such as increment in the national debt to more than $1 trillion and the worst stock market crash since 1929. In addition, many needy people were denied of social welfare support including food stamps while many lost their jobs. As a matter of fact, George Bush termed the economic policies pursued by Reagan as voodoo economics.
Works Cited
Jacobs, Meg, and Julian E. Zelizer. Conservatives in power: the Reagan years, 1981-1989 : a
brief history with documents. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2011. Print.
