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Explore Reaganomics, the economic reforms of President Reagan in the 1980s. Analyze budget cuts, tax reductions, defense spending increase, and their effect on unemployment, debt, per capita income, and income distribution.
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When Reagan was elected in 1980, he sought to implement conservative economic reforms • These reforms depended on the “Trickle-Down” theory in which assistance provided to the wealthy would improve the economy as a whole and, eventually, “trickle down” to the poor • Reagan’s economic policies, called Reaganomics, consisted of three parts: • Budget Cuts • Reagan’s goal was to reduce government spending • Particularly targeted social welfare programs that aided the poor, left those that helped the middle class mostly alone • Tax Cuts • Reduced taxes by 25% over a three year period • Most tax reductions went to those with high incomes • Felt that reducing tax rates would boost the economy so much that actual government income would not drop • Increased Defense Spending • The budget for the Defense Department doubled in Reagan’s first term • Pushed the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), popularly known as “Star Wars,” whose goal was to shoot down enemy ICBM’s
Unemployment Guiding Question: Were Reagan’s economic policies effective? • Look at the graph of unemployment rates and come up with a main idea to answer the guiding question
Debt Guiding Question: Were Reagan’s economic policies effective? • Look at the graph of debt as a percentage of GDP and come up with a main idea to answer the guiding question
Per Capita Income Guiding Question: Were Reagan’s economic policies effective? • Look at the graph of per capita income and come up with a main idea to answer the guiding question
Income by Class Guiding Question: Were Reagan’s economic policies effective? • Look at the graph of income growth by economic class and come up with a main idea to answer the guiding question
SCR Practice Guiding Question: Were Reagan’s economic policies effective? • Write a topic sentence to answer the guiding question
SCR Practice Guiding Question: Were Reagan’s economic policies effective? • Write a conclusion to answer the guiding question