1. Ch 25 Section 2 – Conservative Policies under Reagan and Bush

2. Bell Work What where the three parts of “Reaganomics”? What where the three parts of “Reaganomics”?

3. Essential Questions  What was Reaganomics?  What changes occurred on the Supreme Court?  What were the results of deregulation?  Who supported Conservatives Reagan and Bush in the 1984 and 1988 elections?

4. Reaganomics Takes Over  Reagan wanted to reduce the size and influence of the Federal Government  Deep Cuts in Social Programs – Urban Mass Transit, Food Stamps, welfare benefits, job- training, Medicaid, school lunches and student loans.  Supply-side economics – Tax cuts by 25 %, money saved would be reinvested to improve business and productivity, lowering price.  Increased Defense Spending –(Strategic Defense Initiative)

5. Recession, Recovery, and the National Debt  Severe Recession – July 1981- Nov. 1982  Tax Cuts and the 1983 Consumer Spending Spree sparked the economy  Stocks surged, unemployment declined, and GNP went up 10%.  ( Stocks crash 1987 then rebounded)  Federal Spending still exceeded Federal revenue due to the tax cuts. By 1984 the National Debt almost doubled.

6. Conservative Supreme Court  Sandra Day O’Connor, Antonin Scalia, Anthony M. Kennedy, Clarence Thomas, and a new Chief Justice William Rehnquist

7. Deregulating the Economy  Deregulation – The cutting back of Federal regulation of industry.  ( Increased competition and resulted in lower prices for consumers)  Budget Cuts for the EPA resulted in more mining, logging of forests and more oil and gas drilling. Environmental risk?

8. Conservative Coalition 1984/88  Businesspeople – wanted a deregulated econ.  Southerners – Welcomed limits of Federal Power  Westerners – resented federal controls on mining and grazing  Reagan Democrats- agreed with Reagan on limiting federal gov. and felt the Democratic party had drifted too far left.

9. Election of 1984  Reagan (R) vs. Walter Mondale (D) VP under Carter  Landslide for Reagan  Geraldine Ferraro of NY Mondale’s VP candidate was the first women on a major party’s Presidential ticket.

11. Election of 1988  George HW Bush (R) vs. Michael Dukakis ( D)  Moral Majority, comfortable economy, no reason to change.  Bush “Read my Lips: no new Taxes!”