Did President Reagan bring fundamental change to the economic policy of the USA?

Question 1

P1
P2
P3

Answer 1

NO-NO- INFLATION

• Carter
• Ford

NO- DEREGULATION AND LIMIT WELFARE SUPPORT

• Carter
• Nixon

YES- CUTS to spending

• Johnson
• carter

Question 2

P1

Answer 2

Overall economic recovery following crisis - inflation - decrease-

Inflation reached double figures- 1980 and 1988 inflation fell from 13.5% to 4.7%- Programme for economic recovery-

E1- Carter - anti-inflationary approach to the economic crisis
- appointed Paul Volcker at the Federal Reserve Board = put in place a tight monetary policy with interest rates as high as 20%.
Workers disliked Carter’s focus on inflation rather than unemployment;
-decision to freeze federal workers’ wages alongside his criticism of striking miners in 1977 alienated many blue-collar workers

E2- FORD - -
- reduce inflation - policy of Whip Inflation Now (WIN), 1974. = attempted to introduce voluntary restraints - encouraging Americans to voluntarily cut their mileage by 5% + stop throwing out food by distributing red and white WIN buttons

• AIM OF reducing inflation to promote economic recovery - attempted by previous presidents= lack of fundamental change

Question 3

P2 EVIDENCE

Answer 3

NO- DEREGULATION AND LIMIT WELFARE SUPPORT
-Carter
-Nixon
• Deregulate industry to allow business and capitalism to flourish -allowing businesses to operate in the way that they found to be most cost effective.
-deregulated the price of oil in 1981, and alongside the international oil price falls led to the reduction of inflation.

E1-NIXON-

Nixon also called for ‘New Federalism’ and power to be returned to the states.

• limit welfare support with the Family Assistance Plan (1969)
• reduced funding for Great Society programmes by shrinking the OEO
• closing 59 Job Corps centres
• cutting federal housing programmes.

E2- CARTER
Carter also started the process of deregulation of industry with the Airline Deregulation Act, 1978 (abolished the Civil Aeronautics Board in a bid to create greater competition in the airline industry). The same principle was also applied to transport and communications industries.