How Did Ronald Reagan Influence The Economy

Reagan Rough Draft From actor to political icon, Ronald Reagan did it all. Ronald Reagan, the 40th president of the United States, lead the USA through tough times with prosperous outcomes. Growing up in Tampico Illinois, Reagan became an actor in his 20’s. In the coming years, Reagan was elected to governor in California and later president of the United States. Ronald Reagan was an influential leader due to his actions in the Cold War, his stance on international peace, and his impact on the US economy. Between 1981 and 1989, Ronald Reagan was a major force in creating a peaceful end to the Cold War. The military spending policies of the Reagan-Bush years forced the Soviets to the brink of economic collapse (Jim Woods). This was beneficial to ending the Cold War because the Soviets could not afford to move resources, Nuclear Missiles, into firing positions. In particular, President Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative intimidated the Soviet leaders and influenced them to negotiate with him to reduce nuclear weapons (Jim Woods). By lowering the number of weapons, the threat in return decreased, easing tensions in the USA. The two leaders held four summit conferences between 1985

During his lead, the American economy went from a GDP growth of -0.3% in 1980 to 4.1% in 1988, averaging 7.91% annual growth in current dollars (William K. Niskanen). Under Reagan many jobs were created, leading to an increased GDP. November 1982, when Reagan’s economic policies began to take effect, to November 1989, shortly after he left office, 18.7 million new jobs were created; a record for a comparable period at that time (Independence Hall). Another positive effect of jobs was money for families. Reagan also simplified the tax code by reducing the number of tax brackets to four and slashing a number of tax breaks (William K. Niskanen). By eliminating tax brackets, the tax system was positively affected saving time and