Ronald Reagan. Champion of neoliberalism. To some, the man who lifted the spirits of a nation and restored a sense of pride and optimism after a period of despair. To others, the Reagan years marked the death of liberalism. A dark turn toward unfettered capitalist exploitation and the decapitation of working class movements and civil rights. So, which is it? Was Ronald Reagan responsible for ushering in an era of prosperity and restoring national pride as his boosters maintain? Or was he indeed the harbinger of doom and the reason we have Donald Trump today? Like most things, it’s complicated. But there are three ways in which Reagan fundamentally altered the trajectory of the United States to the detriment of most American families. Max walks through each of them before offering a bit of context for the era and ends with an example of a modern political figure that borrows from Reagan’s political playbook but with a twist: this time it’s to do good in the world.
Resources
Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute: Americans Still Believe in Strong U.S. Global Leadership and Engagement, Including Young MAGA Republicans
The New York Times: Javits Sees G.O.P. Hurt By Reagan
NPR: 1976: The Last Time Republicans Duked It Out To The Last, Heated Minute : NPR
270ToWin: 1980 Presidential Election Interactive Map
Center for Public Integrity: How four decades of tax cuts fueled inequality
Roosevelt Institute: To Put Trickle-down Economics to Rest, We Need a New Tax Code
Wikipedia: Americans for Tax Reform
Brennan Center for Justice: Citizens United, Explained
Heritage Foundation: Reagan And Heritage: A Unique Partnership
The Nation: The Mandate for Leadership, Then and Now
The New York Times: The Strike That Busted Unions
Jacobin: The Legacy of the Crushed 1981 PATCO Strike
NPR + Code Switch: The Truth Behind The Lies Of The Original ‘Welfare Queen’
History: Just Say No
History of Cannabis Project: Reagan Drug Policy — Just Say No & the 1986 Act
Wikipedia: Dark Alliance
U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General: CIA-Contra-Crack Cocaine Controversy
PBS: The Iran-Contra Affair
National Archives: President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Farewell Address (1961)
Peter G. Peterson Foundation: The United States Spends More on Defense than the Next 6 Countries Combined
Frederic Lemieux: Militarization of Law Enforcement in America
ProPublica: The Best Reporting on Federal Push to Militarize Local Police
CounterPunch: The Hidden Cost of the U.S. Military: The Real Budget is Far Larger Than Reported
UNFTR Resources
Video: Did Reagan Destroy the American Dream?
Essay: Did Ronald Reagan Destroy the American Dream?
The Carter Series.
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