BLAME REAGAN [View all]
- Blame Reagan, Article by Asya Ardawatia, TPT Staff Writer, April 30, 2023. Ed. High School Democrats of America
Almost every major political and economic issue in America can be traced back to Reagan.
From increasing income inequality to the rise of Trumpism, Reagan’s policies in the 1980s lie at the root of these issues. Before I discuss how the 40th U.S President was a direct cause of the current political atmosphere, it is important to understand Reaganomics and its impact on the American people. Reagan’s tax cuts and reduction of tax brackets directly enabled the ultra-rich to hoard the majority of America’s wealth. By slashing the tax rate for top-income earners from 70% to 28% and corporate tax rates from 50% to almost nothing, the rich became richer.
The rationale given for these tax cuts stemmed from an idea called “trickle down economics'' where, in theory, the rich would pass these benefits down to the poor by improving working conditions, increasing wages, or creating jobs. These millionaires, who just saved more than half in taxes, were not incentivized to create jobs or help the middle class; instead they could now fund think tanks, hire economists that advocated for this ideology, influence politicians, and utilize their wealth to shape nationwide policy. This created an endless cycle where the opulent has hoarded their wealth and spread their influence, socially and politically, to the detriment of the middle class and the poor.
In turn, income inequality increased, economic mobility declined, and the national debt tripled from $995 billion to $2.9 trillion. - SEE Graph, Wage Stagnation.
The impact Reagan had on the wages of the working class in America. Before Reagan’s institution, under FDR’s New Deal, capitalism was heavily regulated and the nation’s largest employer was General Motors, who paid their workers $50 an hour (adjusted for inflation). This allowed for the middle class to expand, and workers had money to afford basic necessities, start a family, and buy a home. After Reagan’s policies, Walmart is the largest employer but only pays their employees an average of $10 an hour, only slightly above the federal minimum wage of $7.25. Income levels for the top 1% in America have skyrocketed while the wages for the middle and lower classes have remained practically stagnant.
The GOP is associated with union-busting, but this was not always the case. Reagan was a union man, a former member of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG). In 1980, he asked PATCO, the air-traffic controller union, to endorse him in the election. In return, he promised to support their union.
When PATCO went on strike soon after his presidency began, he threatened to fire them if they failed to report within 48 hrs.
On Aug. 5, 1981, Reagan fired 11,345 air-traffic controllers. This sent a shockwave throughout the nation, undermining the importance of unions. The decline of unions led to a redistribution of income, moving wealth from the lower class exclusively to the upper class. It exacerbated economic inequality and heightened class tensions. - - Medical debt. Reagan’s admin. laid the groundwork for today’s exorbitant medical costs, the reason 23 mill Americans are drowning in medical debt (almost $195 bill).. He ended the non-profit requirements of hospitals & insurance companies in several states, allowing the rise of "managed care." Instead of govt. regulations, the healthcare industry was heavily deregulated, allowing the capitalistic version of the medical industry to rise. For-profit companies which became common in health care, were, for the 1st time, focused on profit maximization, not cost control...
- Read More, https://hsdems.org/the-progressive-teen/2023/4/30/blame-reagan
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