1. Reagan’s Economic Policies

2. 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

3. 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

5. 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

7. 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

9. 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

11. SCR Practice Guiding Question: Were Reagan’s economic policies effective? Write a topic sentence to answer the guiding question

12. SCR Practice Guiding Question: Were Reagan’s economic policies effective? Write a conclusion to answer the guiding question