Reagan's Reduction of Big Government - key facts

Pages in Federal Register

1960 - 14,500

1981 - 87,000

1982 - 65,000

Rough proportion of federal regulations cut

½

Money saved in 6 months by federal strike force combatting government fraud and waste

$2 billion

Deregulation of S&Ls

1982

Competitive Equality in Banking Act 1987

Provided money to cover the money lost by closed S&Ls  

Money lost by S&Ls by 1988

$10 billion

1989 Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act

• Bailed out some failing organisations, closed others and set up new federal regulators

• Cost $150 billion

Impact on textile industry 1980-5

• 250 textile plants were forced to close 

• 300,000 workers lost their jobs 

Number of Americans working for Japanese companies in 1987

3 million

Food Security Act 1985 

Gave federal help to farmers who were struggling with falling prices and the falling value of farmland 

Size of federal workforce

• 1981 - 2.1 million

• 1989 - 2.2 million

Overall government spending

• 1981 - $678 billion

• 1989 - $1.14 trillion

Government spending as % of GDP

• 1981 - 22.1%

• 1989 - 21.2%

Tax revenue

• 1980 - $500 billion

• 1988 - $900 billion