Reaganomics and the President’s Lasting Impact on African Americans

Benjamin Seto AMCS 273 What made me choose this topic?

I always thought that Ronald Reagan was a great president because of his policies and the way he reduced taxes for American citizens during his presidential term. My family members would tell me stories about how his policies benefited our family. Perhaps not everyone shares the same opinion on Reagan that I have. Coming from a middle class family, we did not know about the possible negative effects he had on the lower class communities. I wanted to look into this argument and see it for myself. Ronald Reagan

● Ronald Reagan was the 40th President in United States history, serving two terms from 1981-1989 ● Considered by many Americans one of the best presidents this country has ever seen ● Ran as a Republican for his presidency, ran as a Democrat as Vice President for Eisenhower ● 33rd Governor of California from 1967-1975 ● Hollywood Actor ● Survived an assassination attempt Important events during his term

● Tax relief by 25% in 1981 (Reaganomics) ● Increased military budget ● War on Drugs ● Aids outbreaks Reaganomics

● The economic policies of the former US president Ronald Reagan, associated especially with the reduction of taxes and the promotion of unrestricted free-market activity. ● Wanted to reduce taxes by 30%, eventually it passed as 25% ● Helped with increasing household income and GDP ● Prevented more inflation of the value of a dollar ● Reduced unemployment to 5.3% ● Best economic growth in US history Why Reaganomics did not work for some people?

● Reaganomics did not work because the low tax rates allowed big companies to move overseas because labor was cheaper ● Benefited mostly rich people, lower class communities suffered ● Cut spending on domestic programs How Reaganomics affected African Americans

● Many African Americans live in poor communities in a lot of cities ● Reduced housing benefits for said communities ● Created an economic poverty gap between Blacks and Whites that is still happening to this day ● Since many African Americans lived in poverty, it was hard to keep a job and support a household because of the defunding of benefits to the lower class ● Created many problems such as homelessness, violence, and racism throughout the communities James Baldwin and the 1980s: Witnessing the Reagan Era

● An article written about how Reagan was detrimental to the Black community ● “...the Reagan vote was an anti-Black vote” ● Information about how little they though Reagan cared about the Black community Conclusion

● Reagan had a great program going with Reaganomics, but failed to realize that there were more people out there that did not benefit from this program ● Could’ve gave the lower class communities more consideration in his policies ● Because a lot of Blacks lived in poverty, Blacks suffered an economic downfall that is still considerably noticeable to this day ● Reagan would’ve been liked more as a president if he helped these less fortunate communities Citations

Vogel, Joseph. James Baldwin and the 1980s: Witnessing the Reagan Era. University of Illinois Press, 2018.

Will Kenton. Reaganomics, Jul 11, 2019