to what extent was big gov reduced Flashcards
describe Reagans cuts in federal programmes
managed cut/eliminate fed programmes but not as many as wished
-sought to get rid of whole of department of education as considered it unsuccessful big gov=managed to cut is staff by 25% cut programmes savagly and decreased education block grants to states by 63%
-overall civilian employment in fed gov rose due to increase defence grew by 11.5
-declining test scores and poorly equipped schools=23 mil illiterates=blamed lack fed funding
-80 campaign promised to do something about welfare mess and to eliminate waste fraud and abuse
reduced level benifits and range for saftey net programmes such as Aid to families with depedant children=13 mil children lived below povery line 84
conservatives thought AFDC =promsicuity and dependancy
however dared not go to far=pension and medical aid for elederly veterans benefits school lunches and head start
President Reagan cut the real budget of the Department of Education by 18.6 percent,
President Reagan cut the real budget of the Department of Agriculture by 24 percent during his second term in office. President Reagan never cut the budgets of the departments of Defense, Health and Human Services, Justice, or State.
describe Reagans deregulation and big government
-devolved power state and certain amount de reg took place although not as much as he wanted
-appointed individuals to head regulatory agencies who against regulatory gov
-slashed agency budgets to render them incapable of enforcing regs set by congress
-Watt=did not diffrentiate between stifiling economic regs and ones for environment=opened fed lands to explotation to coal and timber companies made 1 mil acres offshore land avaliable to oil companies=resigned 83
-although Reagan vetoed renewal of clean water act 18 bil on grounds expense congress overrode with water quality control act 87
-said trees caused poloution
dereg expensive for taxpayers=S AND L 82 Reagan increased their fed insurance=engaged risky investments=leaders gambling and stealing=collapsed=132 billion bailout from public-costlist financial blunder in US history =lack oversight
describe the impact of Reagan’s anti-big government policies
-pragmatist rather than revolutionary=knew political suicide to attack social security and medicare=older voters =got around this by supporting bipartisan measures that cut security benefits and increased payroll taxes that funded social security
-achieved reduction size and role gov when he cut taxes and domestic programmes but failed dismantle new deal, but halted ND interventionism and began to reverse it.
President Reagan cut the budget of eight agencies out of fifteen during his first term, and ten out of fifteen during his second term.
debt ridden treasury, demoralised and discredited workforce, crumbling public infrastructure moblisation of public against taxes
