Jan Lower Susan Reagan Popular Books

Jan Lower Susan Reagan Biography & Facts

This article discusses the domestic policy of the Ronald Reagan administration from 1981 to 1989. Reagan's policies stressed conservative economic values, starting with his implementation of supply-side economic policies, dubbed as "Reaganomics" by both supporters and detracters. His policies also included the largest tax cut in American history as well as increased defense spending as part of his Soviet strategy. However, he significantly raised (non-income) taxes four times due to economic conditions and reforms, but the tax reforms instituted during presidency brought top marginal rates to their lowest levels since 1931, such that by 1988, the top US marginal tax rate was 28%. Notable events included his firing of nearly 12,000 striking air traffic control workers and appointing the first woman to the Supreme Court bench, Sandra Day O'Connor. He believed in federalism and free markets, passed policies to encourage development of private business, and routinely criticized and defunded the public sector. Despite his support for limited government, he greatly accelerated the nation's War on Drugs. "Reaganomics" and the economy Policies Based on supply-side economics, President Reagan implemented his economic policies in 1981. The four pillars of the policies were to: Reduce marginal tax rates on income from labor and capital. Reduce regulation. Tighten the money supply to reduce inflation. Reduce the growth of government spending. By reducing or eliminating decades-long social programs, while at the same time lowering taxes and marginal tax rates, the President's approach to handling the economy marked a significant departure from that of many of his predecessor's Keynesian policies. Milton Friedman, the monetarist economist who was an intellectual architect of free-market policies, was a primary influence on Reagan. When Reagan took office, the country faced the highest rate of inflation since 1947 (average annual rate of 13.5% in 1980), and interest rates as high as 13% (the Fed funds rate in December 1980). These were considered the nation's principal economic problems and were all considered components of "stagflation". Reagan sought to stimulate the economy with large, across-the-board tax cuts. The expansionary fiscal policies soon became known as "Reaganomics", and were considered by some to be the most serious attempt to change the course of U.S. economic policy of any administration since the New Deal. His radical tax reforms, in combination with a curb on domestic social spending, harsh restraints applied by the Federal Reserve Board under Paul Volcker on the nation's money supply, and heavy government borrowing required to finance the budget and trade deficits, as well as military expenditures, produced significant economic expansion and reduced inflation. Inflation was reduced by more than ten percentage points, reaching a low of 1.9% annual average inflation in 1986. One of the Reagan administration's strategies to reduce government spending was privatization of government functions, paying contractors to do work that government agencies had formerly done. Economic record President Reagan's tenure marked a time of expanded economic prosperity for many Americans. The misery index sank to 9.72 from a high of 19.33, the greatest improvement record for a President since Harry S. Truman left office. In terms of American households, the percentage of total households making less than $10,000 a year (in real 2007 dollars) shrunk from 8.8% in 1980 to 8.3% in 1988 while the percentage of households making over $75,000 went from 20.2% to 25.7% during that period. However, the number of Americans below the poverty level did not decline at all. The number of children, ages 18 years and younger, below the poverty level increased from 11.543 million in 1980, 18.3% of children, to 12.455, 19.5%, in 1988. Also, the situation of low income groups was affected by the reduction of social spending, and inequality increased. The share of total income received by the 5% highest-income households grew from 16.5% in 1980 to 18.3% in 1988 and the share of the highest fifth of income increased from 44.1% to 46.3% in same years. In contrast, the share of total income of the lowest fifth of households fell from 4.2% in 1980 to 3.8% in 1988 and the second poorest fifth from 10.2% to 9.6%. In August 1981, after negotiations with the Republican-controlled Senate and the Democratic-controlled House, Reagan signed the largest marginal tax cut in American history into law at his California ranch. However, the 1981 marginal cuts were partially offset by bracket creep and increased Social Security rates the following year. Unemployment hit a low of 5.3% in 1988 after peaking at over 10% in 1982. Real GDP growth recovered throughout Reagan's term, averaging +3.5% per year, with a high of +7.3% in 1984. The average annual GDP growth during Reagan's presidency was the fifth highest since the Great Depression and the highest of any Republican president. Inflation decreased significantly, falling from 13.6% in 1980 to 4.1% by 1988, and 16 million new jobs were created. The net effect of all Reagan-era tax bills resulted in a 1% decrease of government revenues (as a percentage of GDP), with the revenue-shrinking effects of the 1981 tax cut (-3% of GDP) and the revenue-gaining effects of the 1982 tax hike (~+1% of GDP), while subsequent bills were more revenue-neutral. However, tax revenue itself nominally increased massively by 103.1% from 1981 through 1989, largely as a result of more loopholes abolished than tax rates lowered. During the Reagan Administration, federal receipts grew at an average rate of 8.2% (2.5% attributed to higher Social Security receipts), and federal outlays grew at an annual rate of 7.1%. Reagan's administration is the only one not to have raised the minimum wage by its conclusion. Along with these, Reagan reappointed Paul Volcker as Chairman of the Federal Reserve, as well as the monetarist Alan Greenspan to succeed him in 1987. He preserved the core New Deal safeguards, such as the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the GI Bill and Social Security, while rolling back what he viewed as the excesses of 1960s and 1970s liberal policies. These policies were labeled by some as "trickle-down economics", though others argue that the combination of significant tax cuts and a massive increase in Cold War related defense spending resulted in large budget deficits, an expansion in the U.S. trade deficit, as well as the stock market crash of 1987, while also contributing to the Savings and Loan crisis. The ultimate cost of the Savings and Loan crisis is estimated to have totaled around US$150 billion, about $125 billion of which was consequently and directly subsidized by the U.S. government. John Kenneth Galbraith called it "the largest and costliest venture in public misfeasance, malfeasance and lar.... Discover the Jan Lower Susan Reagan popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Jan Lower Susan Reagan books.