the reagan revolution. a conservative revolution how should we interpret the 1980s? –reagan led a...

15
The Reagan Revolution

Upload: meredith-ryan

Post on 30-Dec-2015

220 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

TRANSCRIPT

The Reagan Revolution

A Conservative Revolution

• How should we interpret the 1980s?– Reagan led a conservative

revolution to roll-back New Deal/Great Society legacy.

– Positive or Negative effects?

• My argument:– Reagan mostly achieved goals, but at great social and

economic cost to women, poor, and minorities.• Left U.S. economically and socially divided.

Reagan: The Man, the Myth

• Early Years– Grew up poor in Dixon, IL

• Held onto small town values his whole life.

– Hollywood “B” Actor

– President of Screen Actor’s Guild• FBI Informant

• Spokesman for General Electric– Preached small government, traditional

values, and anticommunism.

• Governor of California 1966-1974

Reagan: The Man, the Myth

– Goals: weaken big government, increase defense spending, reassert American world dominance.

• Early Years– Elected President in 1980

– Told Americans: “Government is not the solution. Government is the problem.”

Reagan: The Man, the Myth

• The Acting President– Understood the constant “entertainment

culture” of the 1980s

– The “Great Communicator”• Performance over substance.

– Master of imagery and a superb speaker.• Used personal reflections and symbols to

persuade.

– Assassination attempt (March 31, 1981)• A political plus for Reagan.

The Reagan Revolution

• Conservative Social Agenda– Sought a return to “traditional values” circa 1950s.

• Goal: make government smaller through spending cuts in: – Environment, consumer, protection, poverty

programs, education, transportation.

• Reagan appointed conservative judges to help dismantle Warren/Burger courts legacy piece by piece.

The Reagan Revolution

• Environmental Policies– Corporations/ranchers vs.

environmentalists • Logging/mining/grazing vs.

scenic/recreational use.

– Reagan sided with corporations and ranchers

• Paid fees below market value.

– Reagan appointees openly hostile to environmentalists.

• But not reflective of mainstream view which was pro-environment.

The Reagan Revolution

• Ideological Underpinnings– A conservative ideological

devotion to free markets, smaller government, and individual responsibility (circa 19th century).

– Liberal Critics• Reagan agenda unrealistic for complex social/economic problems

of 20th century.

• Federal government needs to take a role.

The Reagan Revolution• Reaganomics

– Top tax rate reduced from 70% to 28%

– Supply-side economics• Theory that if you cut taxes, Americans will invest more and tax

revenues will increase (NOT!)

– Annual Budget deficit reached $220 billion a year in 1986. • $1.8 trillion added to National Debt

The Reagan Revolution• The Decade of Greed

– Reagan’s economic policies reflected mood of country in 1980s.

– Stock market was overvalued and personal debt increased.

– Corporate tycoons were the American heroes

• Michael Milken, Leona Helmsly, and Ivan Boesky

– The Material Girl in a Material World

Ivan Boesky Material Girl

The Reagan Revolution

• Morning in America– Deep recession in 1981-82, but economy

steamed ahead as inflation declined.• Inflation went from 12.4% in 1980 to 4% in

1982.

• 1984 Election– Reagan won a 49 state victory

against Democrats Walter Mondale and Geraldine Ferraro (first woman VP for a major party).

Reagan’s Style of Leadership

• A “Hidden-Hand Presidency?”– Reagan called “out of touch” and

lost without a script.

• A Detached Presidency– A lack of leadership at the top.

• Uninterested in minutia of policy

• Delegated authority.

– Administration’s second term nearly brought down by Iran-Contra Scandal in 1986.

Oliver North testifies to Congress.

The Revolution’s Impact

• A Stratified Society– Top 1% received 60% of

after-tax income.

– Top 1% controlled 39% of nation’s wealth in 1989.

• (15% for bottom 80%)

– 20 million jobs created, but most were non-unionized low wage service sector jobs.

The Revolution’s Impact

• Economic Consequences to Poor– Minimum wage was poverty wage.

– 24% increase in homelessness (1979-1987)

– 20% of children (and 50% of Black children) lived in poverty.

• Reagan not solely responsible, but his policies contribute greatly to a stratified society between “haves” and “have-nots.”

Final Thoughts

• Reagan could look back in 1989 with satisfaction:– Growing economy.

– Conservative judiciary.

– Even an advantage to spiraling deficit• Americans had to rely on other sources

for assistance besides federal government.

• But could the Revolution continue under George Bush without Ronald Reagan?