How Did Ronald Reagan Affect The Economy

Ronald Reagan, born February 6, 1911, began his career as an actor and television host before turning to politics. Reagan became governor of California in 1966, serving eight years. After two unsuccessfully runs in 1968 and 1976, in 1980 he was elected the 40th President of the United States. Serving two terms, Reagan set to “make American people believe in themselves again”. When Reagan took office the people of the United States didn’t trust the government and ratings were the lowest since the Great Depression. Much of Reagan’s success was contributed to his economic programs, which included tax cuts and reduced government spending cuts. He took a vow to rebuild America’s military which sent our deficits soaring. Turning his focus to the recession and ignoring the deficits the economy began to recover in 1983 and continue to grow through is Presidency. Once the economy became stable Reagan began to focus on foreign affairs. He built a trust with the Soviet Union’s leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, to improve superpower relations and bring an end to the Cold War. As a result, in 1987, the Intermediate Nuclear Forces treaty was formed to reduce the number of nuclear

Reagan introduced our nation to free markets with less government controls, open doors for the middle class. The tax cuts that was put in place during his term made a lasting impact. Although the tax rates have fluctuated they have not approached the levels that were in place prior to Reagan’s term in office. While today’s top tax rate is 35%, much of Reagan’s cuts remain. With inflation out of control at 13%, Reagan appointed Alan Greenspan as head of the central bank who put tight restriction in place bringing to 4.1%. The interest rate had topped 19% in 1981, with the controls that Greenspan put in place, today it is 1%. He promoted negotiations with Canada and other countries which led to the North American Free Trade