Other Key Issues in the 1980s

Question 1

Opposition to Big Government- Reagan (Initial Set-Up)

Answer 1

Inflation main concern coming into office- 13.5%
Convinced of need for minimal government + taxation- policy of ‘new federalism’, decreased fed. gov, return power to states
Started Reaganomics

Question 2

Opposition to Big Government- Reagan (Social Welfare)

Answer 2

Social spending fell by 1.5% annually
Reduced benefits- 212 federal programmes- food stamps cut by 13%, student loans, and child nutrition programmes cut by 28%

Question 3

Opposition to Big Government- Reagan (Agencies)

Answer 3

Cut staff of regulatory agencies (average 29%)- autonomy to businesses
Reduced Department of Education by 25%, cut programmes + Consumer Product Safety Commission cut by 38%

Question 4

Opposition to Big Government- Reagan (Taxes)

Answer 4

Persuaded Democrat Congress to accept budget cuts + tax reduction in 1981 (individual + corporate)
1986, passed major tax reform in 1986 to simplify tax code

Question 5

Opposition to Big Government- Reagan (Political Shift)

Answer 5

New public philosophy- ‘Reagan Revolution’ Shift to the right
Democrats stopped considering more spending on welfare, major domestic expenditures abandoned (political + state of budget)

Question 6

Opposition to Big Government- Reagan (Economy)

Answer 6

Longest ever period of growth in 1st term
Inflation decreased- 13.5% in 1980, 4.7% in 1988
Unemployment decreased- 7% in 1980, 5.2% in 1988, 7 million new jobs

Question 7

Opposition to Big Government- Bush (Taxation Promises)

Answer 7

Election campaign- ‘read my lips, no new taxes’
But failed to deliver- US national debt at $2.7 trillion post-Reagan

Question 8

Opposition to Big Government- Bush (Tax in Actuality)

Answer 8

1990- federal income tax rose from 28% to 31%

Question 9

Opposition to Big Government- Bush (Expenditure)

Answer 9

Military and domestic expenditure cut by $492 billion

Question 10

Opposition to Big Government- Bush (Interest Rates)

Answer 10

Federal Reserve Board (USA’s central bank), lowered interest rates to 3.5% to stimulate economic growth
But had little impact

Question 11

Strong Defence and Foreign Policy- Reagan (Spending)

Answer 11

Increases in military spending- $1.6 trillion over 5 years
Increased defence budget by 43% by end of presidency

Question 12

Strong Defence and Foreign Policy- Reagan (Cold War Relations)

Answer 12

Friendly summits with Mikhail Gorbachev, good working relationship, (effective) end of Cold War

Question 13

Strong Defence and Foreign Policy- Reagan (SDI)

Answer 13

March 1983- Strategic defence initiative (star wars), a missile defence system
Cost $12 billion by 1988

Question 14

Strong Defence and Foreign Policy- Reagan (SDI Limitations)

Answer 14

Didn’t work
Didn’t have Congressional, State Department, Defence Department, NATO approval- no consultation

Question 15

Strong Defence and Foreign Policy- Reagan (Soviet Response to SDI)

Answer 15

Took it seriously
SDI + defence spending pushed USSR to spend more- bankrupting them
This encouraged negotiations to facilitate arms treaties + end of Cold War

Question 16

Strong Defence and Foreign Policy- Bush (Panama)

Answer 16

1989, landed 27,000 marines in Panama against General Manuel Noriega
Ordered to seize Panama Canal, protect US citizens + stop drug traffic
Noriega surrendered

Question 17

Strong Defence and Foreign Policy- Bush (Panama Response)

Answer 17

US saw as a success, world saw as US intervention- unimpressed

Question 18

Strong Defence and Foreign Policy- Bush (Kuwait)

Answer 18

Sent 700,000 US troops to Kuwait in ‘Operation Desert Storm’
Liberated from Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein by Feb 1991
Only 136 Americans died

Question 19

Strong Defence and Foreign Policy- Bush (Kuwait Response)

Answer 19

Popularity boosted- US might, clear + limited objectives, Congress onside + press controlled