Presidency of Ronald Reagan
Headed by U.S. President Ronald Reagan from 1981 to 1989, the Presidency of Ronald Reagan, also known as the Reagan Administration, was conservative, steadfastly anti-Communist, employed a foreign policy of “peace through strength”, and favored tax cuts and smaller government.
Reagan was an advocate of free markets and, upon taking office, believed that the American economy was hampered by excessive economic controls and misguided welfare programs enacted during the 1960s and 1970s. Taking office during a period of stagflation, Reagan said in his first inauguration speech, "In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem." His first act as president was to issue an executive order ending certain price controls. His supply-side economics policies, or "Reaganomics", achieved a 25% cut in the federal personal income tax, moderate deregulation and tax reform, which he believed would remove barriers to efficient economic activity. After a sharp recession, a long period of high economic growth without significant inflation ensued.
Despite Reagan's stated desire to cut spending, federal spending grew during his administration.
One of Reagan's most controversial early moves was to fire most of the nation's air traffic controllers who took part in an illegal strike. Reagan strengthened Social Security to make it solvent longer by cutting disability benefits, and survivor benefits, and by increasing the FICA payroll withholding tax. He also took tough positions against crime, declared a renewed war on drugs, but was criticized for being slow to respond to the AIDS epidemic.
In foreign affairs, Reagan initially rejected détente and confronted the Soviet Union through a policy of "peace through strength", including increased military spending, firm foreign policies against the USSR and support for anti-communist groups around the world. Reagan later embraced the reformer Mikhail Gorbachev after he rose to power and together they peacefully ended the Cold War.
Some foreign interventions, such as the one in Lebanon, ended in failure, while others, such as the invasion of Grenada, were successful. Involvement in the Iran-Iraq War at times favored Iraq, believing Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was less dangerous. The Administration also engaged in covert arms sales to Iran in order to fund anti-communist Contra rebels in Nicaragua. The resulting Iran-Contra Affair became a scandal to which Reagan professed ignorance. A significant number of officials in the Reagan Administration were either convicted or forced to resign as a result of the scandal.
However, by the end of the Reagan presidency, a high level of public approval (64% of the nation) indicated that the administration had recovered its image among the American public due to the perceived restoration of America's power, prosperity and national pride.
"Reaganomics" and the economy
When Ronald Reagan entered office, the American economy faced the highest rate of inflation since 1947, as well as double-digit unemployment. Those, along with high interest rates, were considered the nation's principal economic problems. Reagan focused on reviving the economy through his economic policies, partially based on supply-side economics. The policies sought to stimulate the economy with large, across-the-board tax cuts and aimed to reduce the growth of domestic government spending, regulation, and inflation. Reagan's expansionary fiscal policies soon became known as "Reaganomics",and were considered by some to be the most serious attempt to change the course of U.S. economic policy of any administration since the New Deal.
President Reagan's tenure marked a time of economic prosperity for the majority of Americans. Income tax rates were lowered significantly, with the top personal tax bracket dropping from 70% to 28% in 7 years. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth recovered strongly after the 1982 recession, growing at an annual rate of 3.4% per year. Unemployment peaked at over 11 percent in 1982, then dropped steadily, and inflation significantly decreased, falling from 13.6% in 1980 (President Carter's final year in office) to 4.1% by 1988.Reagan reappointed Fed Chairman Paul Volcker, as well as the monetarist Alan Greenspan to succeed him. He preserved the core New Deal safeguards, such as the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the GI Bill and Social Security, while rolling back what he viewed as the excesses of 1960s and 1970s liberal policies.
Reagan's 1981 income tax cuts, the largest in American history, were passed with bipartisan support by the Democratic-controlled House and Senate. Reagan's support for an increased defense budget also was supported by Congressional Democrats. These Democrats, however, were not so willing to go along with Reagan's proposed cuts in domestic programs. The resulting increase of the national budget deficit led Reagan and Congress to approve tax increases in 1982 and 1983.
Reagan's policies became common flashpoints for critics, many of whom charged that Reagan was unconcerned with income inequality and its effects, and derided his economic policies as "Trickle-down economics."They also stated that the combination of significant tax cuts and a massive increase in Cold War related defense spending caused large budget deficits, the U.S. trade deficit expansion, contributed to the Savings and Loan crisis,and the stock market crash of 1987 known as "Black Monday." In order to cover new federal budget deficits, the United States borrowed heavily both domestically and abroad, raising the national debt from $700 billion dollars to $3 trillion dollars, and the United States moved from being the world's largest international creditor to the world's largest debtor nation.Reagan described the new debt as the "greatest disappointment" of his presidency.
Ronald Reagan himself was criticized for his supposed lack of understanding of economics. Donald Regan, the President's former Secretary of the Treasury, and later Chief of Staff, stated, "In the four years that I served as Secretary of the Treasury, I never saw President Reagan alone and never discussed economic philosophy or fiscal and monetary policy with him one–on–one....The President never told me what he believed or what he wanted to accomplish in the field of economics.”
Some scholars agree that Reagan's tax policies invigorated America's economy. There is some speculation, however, about deficits from Reaganomics being a contributory factor to the economic recession of 1990-1991, and being the reason that Reagan's successor, George H.W. Bush, reneged on a campaign promise and raised taxes.
Major legislation approved
Under Ronald Reagan, the following major bills were approved:
Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981
Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982
Social Security Amendments of 1983
Tax Reform Act of 1986
Goldwater-Nichols Act of 1986
Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986
参考资料：http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/Reaganomics.html