The extent to which 'big government' was reduced 1981-96

(WIP)

What was government philosophy in the half-century before Reagan’s presidency?

• Big government philosophy of the New Deal era dominated American politics
• This favoured large-scale federal government intervention

What did some Americans start to fear?

• Their country was becoming an expensive welfare state + felt alienated by expanding federal government, Great Society programmes and affirmative cost
• Reagan’s aim was to halt this process

What did Reagan sought to do to the Department of Education and what did he actually do?

• Sought to get rid of the whole department, considered it an unsuccessful example of big government
• Reduced staff by 25%, cut its programmes savagely + decreased education block grants to the states by 63%

What happened to overall civilian employment in the federal government?

• Rose by 3%
• Due to emphasis on building up defence where civilian employment grew by 11.5%

What did Reagan promise to do in his 1980 campaign?

• Do something about the “welfare mess” and to eliminate “waste, fraud and abuse”

What happened to benefits under Reagan?

• Reduced level + range of benefits for ‘safety net’ programmes e.g. Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC)
• Roughly 13 million children lived below the poverty line in 1984

What did Reagan decide not to touch?

• Pensions + medical aid for the elderly , veterans’ benefits, school lunches and Head Start (free breakfast for poor schoolchildren)

What was the growing consensus on federal regulations?

• That they were stifling capitalism and competition

What was Reagan going to do more than Carter?

• Reagan was going to work to deregulate further than that of Carter

What did Reagan do to deregulate further?

• Devolved some power to the states
• Appointed individuals who did not believe in regulatory function of government to head regulatory agencies
• Slashed agency budgets to render them incapable of enforcing regulations established by Congress

Who was Reagan’s most ‘controversial agency head’ and what did he do?

• Secretary of the Interior James G. Watt
• Opened federal lands to exploitation of by coal and timber companies
• Blocked any creation of new protected wilderness areas
• Made one million acres of offshore land avalible to oil companies for drilling

When was Reagan’s deregulation proved incredibly expensive for taxpayers?

• 1982, he signed a bill that increased the amount of federal insurance available to savings-and-loans depositors + allowed them to engage in risky investments
• Many S&Ls collapsed in the late 1980s, necessitating $132 billion bailout from public funds

What did Reagan know was ‘political suicide’?

• To launch a great attack on programmes such as Social Security + Medicare due to elderly voters being a powerful bloc

How succssful was Reagan at reducing ‘big government’?

• Achieved a reduction in the size and role of federal government when he cut taxes + domestic programmes, failed pertaining to defence
• Failed to dismantle the New Deal, halted New Deal interventionism