Ronald Reagan Chapter 25

What do we know about Ronald Reagan? As a group list everything you know about Ronald Reagan

Who is Reagan? ●40th President, ●Actor from California o How could his acting experience help or hurt his campaign? ●Former Democrat

Rise of Conservative Movement ●New Right o against entitlement programs and affirmative action o Called for return to school prayer ●Conservative Coalition o business leaders, middle class, disgruntled Democrats and fundamentalist Christians ●Moral Majority o return to “traditional” moral values

Rise of Conservative Movement ● National Rifle Association o originally created to promote marksmanship skills, became political and endorsed Reagan ● Heritage Foundation o D.C. “think-tank” (non-profit lobbyist group) seeking to promote conservative policies

Goals of Conservative Movement ●Shrink government and reduce spending ●Promote family values and patriotic ideals ●Stimulate business by reducing government regulations and lowering taxes ●Strengthen national defense

Goals of Reaganomics 1.Reduce Government Spending 2.Cut Taxes 3.Reduce government regulation 4.Reduce inflation

1.Reduce Government Spending ●Social programs o Social Security, Medicare and veteran pension not cut o Urban mass transit, food stamps, welfare benefits, job training, Medicaid, school lunches and student loans cut.

1. Reduce Government Spending cont. ●Military Spending o Defense Department budget almost doubled o Strategic Defense Initiative ●Federal debt rose from around $99.4 billion to almost $2.9 trillion Stop and write: Did Reagan achieve his goal of reducing government spending? Why or why not?

2. Tax Cuts ●Supply-side economics ●Lowered taxes after 1981 ●Approved tax increases after 1982 Stop and write: Did Reagan achieve his goal of tax cuts? Why or why not?

3. Government Regulation ●Cut federal entitlement programs ●Deregulation o removed price controls for oil o eliminated federal health and safety inspections for nursing homes o deregulated airline industry and savings and loan industry o Cut EPA budget

4. Reduce Inflation ●Contracted money supply, dropped inflation from 13.5% to 3.2%

But... ●Contraction increased unemployment ●Jump in interest rates contributes to recession

Evaluate ●How effective was Reagan in his economic policies? ●Support your answer with 2 examples