William MinorAmerican Government 12/19/17Reaganomics Born in Tampico, Illinois, on February 6, 1911, Ronald Reagan chose a career in film. While in Hollywood, he worked as president of the Screen Actor’s Guild and met his future wife, Nancy. He then served two terms as the governor of California. He has been featured in many Hollywood classics and has won a Golden Globe.  Reagan ran for the president as a Republican and won two terms, beginning in 1980.

He later  became a conservative icon for the next decade and future generations. Reaganomics is the term used to refer to the economic policies of Ronald Reagan which called for the deregulation of domestic markets, increased military spending, decreased social spending, and nation wide tax cuts. These economic policies were introduced in response to a longer period of economic depression than what began under President Ford in 1976. The term Reaganomics was used by both supporters and critics of Reagan’s policies. Reaganomics was originally based on the principles of supply-side economics and the trickle-down theory. These theories hold the view that decreases in taxes, especially for corporations, offer the best way to stimulate economic growth.

The idea is if the expenses of corporations are reduced, the savings “trickle down” to the rest of the economy, arousing growth and spending. Before he was Reagan’s vice president, George H. Bush made the term “voodoo economics” a synonym for Reaganomics. As Reagan began his first term in office, the country had been suffering through several years of stagflation, in which high inflation was accompanied by high unemployment. To fight high inflation, the Federal Reserve Board had been increasing the short-term interest rate, which was near its peak in 1981.

Reagan proposed a four-legged economic policy that was intended to lower inflation and create economic and job growth. The policy reduces government spending on domestic programs. Reagan’s plan reduced taxes for individuals, businesses and investments. The policy also reduced the burden of regulations on business, and supported slower money growth in the economy.  While Reagan reduced domestic spending, it was made up for by increased military spending, creating a net deficit throughout his two terms. The top marginal tax rate on individual income was cut to 70% from 28%.

The corporate tax rate was reduced to 48% from 34%. Reagan continued with the reduction of economic regulation that began under President Jimmy Carter and eliminated price controls on oil and natural gas, long distance telephone services and cable television. In his second term, Reagan supported a monetary policy that stabilized the U.

S. dollar against foreign currencies. Near the end of Reagan’s second term, tax revenues received by the U.

S. government increased to $909 billion in 1988 from $517 billion in 1980. Inflation was reduced to 4%, and the unemployment rate fell below 6%. Although economists and politicians continue to argue over the effects of Reaganomics, it did usher in one of the longest and strongest periods of prosperity in American history. Between 1982 and 2000, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) grew nearly 14-fold, and the economy added 40 million new jobs. President Reagan delivered on each of his four major policy objectives, although not to the extent that he and his supporters had hoped. That’s according to William A.

Niskanen, a founder of Reaganomics. Niskanen belonged to Reagan’s Council of Economic Advisers from 1981 to 1985. Inflation was tamed, but it was thanks to monetary policy, not fiscal policy. Reagan’s tax cuts did end the recession. But government spending wasn’t lowered, just shifted from domestic programs to defense. The result? The federal debt almost tripled, from $997 billion in 1981 to $2.857 trillion in 1989.

  Today’s conservatives lump Reaganomics into the make America great again. President Donald Trump and other Republicans advocate it as the solution the economy needs. The theory behind Reaganomics reveals why what worked in the 1980s could harm growth today, and can be explained by the Laffer Curve. Economist Arthur Laffer developed this curve in 1979. The curve showed the world how tax cuts could stimulate the economy to the point where the tax base expanded. It showed how the Reaganomics could work. Tax cuts reduce the federal budget; plus, these same tax cuts have a ripple effect on economic growth. Tax cuts have the potential to put money in the consumers’ pockets, which, in theory, they will spend.

This stimulates business and economic growth, and more hiring resulting in a larger base. The effect that tax cuts have depends on how fast the economy is growing when they are applied. It also depends on the types of taxes and how high they were before the cut. The Laffer Curve shows that cutting taxes only increases government revenue up to a certain point. Once at this point, there is not much more the Reaganomics plan can do. Once taxes get low enough, cutting them will only decrease revenue instead of stimulating more growth.

Cuts only worked during Reagan’s presidency because the highest tax rate was 70 percent. The American people were begging for him to cut taxes. This plan was a home run at the time but is now a very risky venture. The policy has a much weaker effect when tax rates drop below 50 percent. Currently we are walking the line on this policy, and whether or not it should be fully implemented through Trump’s Presidency.  All in all, President Ronal Reagan began the experiment of Reaganomics in the early 1980’s.

Since then it has been a topic of criticism, and has been tired or used many times in politics. Some may call it a failed plan, others many not. However, they may not call it anything but genius. Work Cited