Pros And Cons Of Ronald Reagan's Economic Policy

Ronald Reagan is prominent in U.S History for his civil and economic policies that had an everlasting effect on American citizens - health, economic, and political wise.

Sworn into office in the year of 1981, he pushed for economic policies that came across as helpful to the American people. These policies were inspired by Reagan’s Reaganomics, a theory in which states that if we were to give the rich tax cuts they will accumulate in wealth and it will eventually go back to the middle and poor class. This was aimed for better corporate production, greater wealth, and the resurrection of the American dream.

For historical context, the United States was experiencing stagflation. An economic phenomenon term used to describe a country experiencing

Furthermore, it is also important to note that at the time of his campaigning, the tax bracket for the wealthy was at 70 percent - the highest out of any country at the time. And by the time he left, the tax rate was down to 38.5%.

Likewise, Reagan and his theories for economics had its pros and cons. It allegedly added more jobs, cut a huge amount of taxes, and encouraged a more free market. However, public and social program funding has been slashed, both the national deficit and debt has increased by large margins, and the wealth gap has an increasing open crack that is still in effect as of right now.

To provide evidence I’ll go through several, famous - yet durable sources proving why Reagan’s policies destroyed the United States. First, we will find sources in “The Costs of Reaganomics” by C. Fred

Fred Bergstens’ Take

The Reagan administration promoted fiscal and monetary policies that were then deemed well for the American economy and people. They wanted to cut expenditures for social and public programs, increase the defense budget, and bring economic calm for the United States who were dealing with stagflation.

Furthermore, lowering the non-defense expenditures were highly desirable - though, the Reagan administration promoted tighter fiscal policy and less stringent interest rates that have been shown to combat inflation, however, Reagan’s policy mixing was not a suitable plan for this problem. Reagan did not plan to combat the United State’s problem due to a suitable, well thought out, economic plan but rather ideological and structural reasons.

The significance of the situation was huge -, the global economy depended on the United States to make the right move, or if not it can bring global economic disaster. However, Reagan too, did not beg the considerations of the global impact affected by his decisions. - Later his decisions dragged the already crumbling U.S dollar, propelling the inflation rate upward. (Read “Why the United States is Globally