REAGANS POLICIES OF DEREGULATION AND DEVOLUTION OF GOVERNMENT POWER FIT HIS BRAND, BUT INCREASING GOVERNMENT DEFICIT DID NOT.
Reagan's deregulation policies fit his 'brand.' According to Zinn, Reagan "replace[d] tough enforcement of environmental laws by a "voluntary" approach," so businesses could decide what they wanted to do for themselves. Also under Reagan, the EPA 'lower[ed] its federal standards of air and water quality' (HA 56.3). Policies like these reduced governmental control of businesses and promoted economic efficiency, therefore fitting Reagan's 'brand.'
"Cutting the size of government" (Schweikart) was one of Reagan's 'brands' that his policies lived up to. Reagan's policies that supported the devolution of government power includes the continuation of Nixon's 'New Federalism' policy through block grants, which were lump-sum payments to states, who could use it as they wished, without government interference.
"Cutting the size of government" (Schweikart) was one of Reagan's 'brands' that his policies lived up to. Reagan's policies that supported the devolution of government power includes the continuation of Nixon's 'New Federalism' policy through block grants, which were lump-sum payments to states, who could use it as they wished, without government interference.
Reducing government spending was one of Reagan's 'brands', because the US "for decades... piled deficit upon deficit" (Reagan's first inaugural address), but his policies did not fit this brand. During Reagan's term, annual deficits exceeded $100 billion, due to tax cuts and military spending (85% increase in Dept. of Defence's budget). Clearly, high deficits did not fit his 'brand.'
No comments:
Post a Comment