Ronald Reagan stats

ora

$35 bil out of federal spending

senate cut tax reduction from 30-25%

cut marginal income tax by 23% across 3 years, linked bands to inflation

aid to families with dependent children - fewer eligible, capped payments

erta

Cut marginal income tax by 23% across 3 years 

highest income tax band rate fell from 70 → 50%, lowest fell from 14 → 11%

IRA

Business tax rates cut

Business tax breaks reduced and skewed to favour small/innovative businesses

cobra

shifts responsibility for healthcare payments from federal govt to employer

Move costs to state/private bodies 

ora and erta

Federal reserve board put tighter restrictions on money supply, didn’t lift with unemployment increase → sharp rise in interest rates, hurt industry buying supplies on credit

unemployment

7.1% of population in 1980 → 9.6% in 1983 

inflation

13.5% in 1980 → 1982, 6.2%, fluctuated but never double figures again, normally under 5%

federal deficit

1980 deficit = $59 bil, 9% of federal spending

1983 = $208 bil, ~14% of federal spending in loan interest payments alone

defence spending = 28% of federal spending in 1980 to 22% in 1987

• Cut federal deficit from 22% of GNP 1981 → 19% in 1986 

  • BUT hastily composed, significant errors and footnote with ‘unidentified’ cuts of $74 bil

air traffic controllers strike

13,000, un-American union

impact of decreasing regulation

conglomerates

Many businesses eg phone companies to airlines, cut services provided to maximise profit, rural areas suffer -> made Reagan policy unpopular in bush era

23,000 pages out of federal register to reduce all federal regulations, rom 87,000 pages

January 1981 executive order sbring down cost of petrol and heating fuel

federal strike force to combat govt fraud and waste - saved $2 bil in 6 months 

1973, workers with 26 hours of leisure time per week, by 1987 = 16 hours

s&l collapse

1987 competitive equality in banking act → money to cover losses by closed S&Ls

BUT by 1988, lost $10 billion, 1989 property market collapse

1989, bush signed Financial institutions reform recovery and enforcement act/FIRREA bailed out failing organisations, closed others, new federal regulators at $150 billion

non interventionist policies on trade

textile industry → 1980-85, 250 textile plants forced to close, 300,000+ workers lost jobs 

Buying power of $ weakened

Foreign imports and conglomerates = cheaper & /\

workfare

one parent working to claim family benefit.

ora allowed states to make working on federal project necessary for welfare

low income housing

1970, 2.4 million homes available > 1985, 3.7 million families qualified, but none available 

1978, federal govt spent $32.2 billion. 1988, spending $9.2 bil

homelessness

1984, federal funding for homeless = $300 mil → 1988 $1.6 bil

• 1987 McKinney Vento Homeless assistance act → federal emergency management food and shelter program run by Federal emergency management agency FEMA 

• Fema matched state grants to local homeless projects half and half, state had to choose project and fund it before federal aid granted → state raised through taxes/charities/donations

interest rates

1980-87, average mortgage debt /\ by 30%, rate of foreclosure /\ 4x

october 1988 family support act

Family only eligible for benefits if one parent = working minimum 16 hours per week

minorities

withdrawal of 40% of funding for bilingual education

‘Planned shrinkage’

Sandra day in Supreme Court BUT didn’t support Equal rights act, instead anti-abortion legislation

in first 6 mo., civil rights division of justice dept filed 5 racial discrimination lawsuits, 24 in Nixon 6 mo

black Women filled 2 minority quotas for business

not meritocracy

business and industry

over 500,000 small businesses in each year of recession

farming

• 1979 stopped exporting wheat in protest of USSR invading Afghanistan → problematic rising interest rates, money supply tightened

  • drought in 1983, smaller farms bought by agri-businesses 

    • In 1980, 17% of farmers with 60% of subsidy fund

• national save the family farm coalition

  • tractorcades in iowa

  • 1983, 500 farms sold monthly 

  • committing suicide 4x rate of any other worker 

changing production

Baltimore and cleveland, 20%+ of population below poverty line, unemployment, poverty all workers white & non white

bicoastal boom

1987, california & east coast states had 5.6% unemployment compared to 7.8% in rest of country → almost 75% of all new businesses, 60% of new jobs 

popularity

started with approval rating of 68

new right thinking

Rejected political 1970s, increase of ‘lazy’ ‘welfare dependent’ poor, rising strikes/demonstrations, increasing lack of ‘law and order’, gay rights/affirmative action/abortion/women’s liberation

changes to political environment

lobbying in govt

candidates buy more air-time on tv

Democrats divided → swung to pass reagan’s 1981 legislation — only needed 26 to passive

‘New Democrat’ ideology with chairman bill clinton 1990 

Would abolish welfare and provide ‘support’ because of hostility for ‘lazy welfare’

Clinton presidential campaigns offer ‘new covenant’

viewership in debates

reagan-carter debates = 80.6 million

1984 debates = 67.5 million