SPECIAL COMMITTEE

[REAGAN CABINET] and the

Nikhil Paul and Joey Mistretta

COMMITTEE CHAIRS

Nikhil Paul is a junior at Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School. He looks forward to chairing the dynamic Reagan Cabinet. Nikhil has been a member of both Model UN and Model Congress since 8th grade through attending several conferences and chairing several committees. Other clubs that Nikhil actively participates in include LiNK, Debate, and Ping Pong club. Outside of school, Nikhil enjoys watching and playing basketball, football, and soccer (although he is partial towards basketball). Additionally, Nikhil actively volunteers at the Science Museum, VCU Hospital, and the Special Olympics. He looks forward to an awesome committee with his fellow comrade and co-chair, Joey Mistretta.

Joey Mistretta is a junior at Maggie Walker, and he is excited to chair the Reagan Cabinet. Joey is no stranger to politics, serving as the president of Maggie Walker’s Young Republicans club, and has also been heavily involved in Model UN, Debate, and Forensics. He’s also an officer in the junior class government and ASL club, as well as a performer in Maggie Walker’s improv comedy team. In his free time, Joey swims competitively year-round, trains as a black belt in tae kwon do, and worked as a lifeguard at his favorite place, Kings Dominion. Joey is pumped to chair the best committee at WMC with his brotha from anotha motha, Nikhil Paul. THE WAR ON DRUGS Introduction On June 24, 1982, more than one year after was elected into office, Reagan introduced Executive Order 12386 concerning Federal Drug policy, and with one speech, he changed American perspective on drugs forever: “…We're rejecting the helpless attitude that drug use is so rampant that we're defenseless to do anything about it. We're taking down the surrender flag that has flown over so many drug efforts; we're running up a battle flag. We can fight the drug problem, and we can win. And that is exactly what we intend to do…” Drugs had been extremely common in inner-city and suburban communities alike, and Reagan not only brought national attention to this issue, but he introduced the most legislation and allocated the most funds of any president up to his time in order to combat the domestic and international epidemic. Reagan is best known for his strong anti-communist stance and distinctive economic policies, but his biggest contributions may be to the war on drugs. During the two terms of Reagan’s presidency, he dramatically expanded federal spending on the war on drugs, increased federal regulation on drugs, and increased the severity of punishment for drug- related crimes. Throughout his term, Reagan and his wife, Nancy, constantly informed the public of the dangers of drugs, soon making drugs like crack the number one issue to the American public. The expansion of the federal spending on the war on drugs increased regulation, incarceration rates, and funded DEA and anti-drug CIA efforts overseas in the Andean valley and Central America. Much of this money would also go to other nations’ governments in exchange for their strict handling of drug offenses. Reagan followed a strict 3-part plan in order to combat the drug epidemic: Eradicate coca production in Andean nations, stop the flow of drugs to America through Mexico and the Caribbean, and enforce strict punishments for drug users and dealers. Although the War on Drugs seemed to go well with increasing incarceration rates of criminals for drug-related crimes and more funding allocated to fight international wars on drugs to stop the drugs at their source, it’s very controversial on how well the war actually went. The War on Drugs may have been where Reagan contributed the most to during his presidency, but it is also can be seen as his biggest failure as president. During Reagan’s portion of the War on Drugs, he increased the annual budget for the war to $2.7 billion dollars. To increase the budget, many social programs’ funding had to be cut. Although surveys found that cocaine users dropped, deaths from cocaine continuingly increased. Reagan’s policies also created a drug punishment disparity, punishing those with 500g of cocaine the same way as someone with 5g of crack; a minimum 5 year sentence. With the inner-city African American communities being the primary users of crack due to the low price point, more African-Americans were being incarcerated than any other race, creating a racial imbalance in the prison system. Many activists felt that the policies were targeting African-Americans. Lastly, the international portion of the war for America could also be considered as a failure. While America provided funding to other nations and fought in their countries against drugs, they were often uncooperative and sometimes even worked with the drug dealers. History Drugs have been part of American history and culture for many years, but major attempts from the American government to curb drug use in the American public only began in the 20th century. Representative Francis Burton Harrison was the first to introduce major legislation against drugs with the Harrison Narcotics Tax Act. This act was approved in 1914, and put into effect in 1915. This act, rather than ban drugs, put a tax on opiates and coca products. However, up to this point, there was no legislation that created a national agency that could regulate drugs. The Narcotics Drug Import and Export Act was passed and made effective in 1922. This act created a Federal Narcotics Control Board (FNCB) that oversaw imports and exports of opiates and coca products, and made sure that all of these products were banned from recreational use and monitored the medical use. Then, in 1930, the Department of Treasury established the Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN). The FBN consolidated the FNCB under the Department of Treasury and expanded its powers. The FBN not only monitored the imports and exports of drugs, but also acted as a legal force, lobbying for legislation and criminalization of drugs. The first targeted criminalization of drugs came in 1937. The Marijuana Tax Act, pushed by the FBN, created a small tax for marijuana. This tax required that all marijuana dealers keep a log of their transactions. If any illegal transactions are found, the dealers would be arrested, and if any transactions were not found in the logs, the dealers would be arrested. There is no specific date for the start of the War on Drugs, but most historians agree that it began under President Johnson’s presidential term, where he introduced the first major legislation targeting the increasing drug epidemic. Several reports during the 1960s found that 50% of all crime was drug related. Johnson believe that drugs were a major social issue, and introduce the first act of the many that will be passed in the War on Drugs: “The Reorganization Act of 1968”. This act merged the FBN from the Department of Treasury and the Bureau of Drug Abuse Control from the FDA to create the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs (BNDD). The BNDD was put under the Department of Justice, and given powers never before given to a drug agency. Nixon recognized that drugs were a major issue affecting Americans everywhere. Almost as soon as he was elected, Nixon began to pass major legislation to combat drugs. In 1969, President Nixon created Operation Intercept. This operation was created to stop the drug flow from South America and Central America into the United States. The operation entailed heavily patrolling the Mexican-American border, practically shutting the border down. This patrolling was done to discover and stop the flow of Marijuana that comes through the Mexican-American border. However, due to the expensive nature and lack of tangible results, the operation was ended just after 20 days. Just one year later during Nixon’s term in 1970, the Controlled Substance Act was established. This act was part of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse and Prevention Act passed by Nixon, and is still used, to an extent, today. The Controlled Substance Act introduced regulation for manufacturing, use, importation, use, and distribution of drugs. It also created 5 schedules to classify drugs with. Common drugs targeted during the war on drugs were marijuana, which was schedule 1, heroin, which was also schedule 1, and cocaine, which was schedule 2. In 1971, a bombshell report came out stating that 10-15% of all soldiers in Vietnam became heroin addicts, amounting to 30,000 soldiers. Due to this, Nixon officially declared a “War on Drugs” and made drug abuse public enemy number one. From 1971 onwards, a mandatory heroin test for Vietnamese servicemen was created. These servicemen were not allowed to come home unless they tested negative for heroin. The U.S. also provided treatment to those who tested positive so that they would test negative. However, the US government was not as innocent as they appeared in this tragedy. Dating back to 1965, the CIA used Air America planes in Laos to help the anti-communist Hmong group transport their opium. This opium was used to help fund the Hmong’s anti-communist war efforts, and much of this opium was sold to US soldiers fighting in Vietnam. In 1973, the modern day DEA was formed to replace the BNDD with Nixon’s Reorganization Act No. 2. This was the last piece of major anti-drug legislation before Reagan’s presidency. However, much of the legislation up to this point, and even till the end of Nixon’s presidency, seemed to not work. In 1979, a national survey found that 25 million Americans used illegal drug(s) just 30 days before the survey was taken. The ever increasing epidemic leads into Reagan’s dynamic term in his fight against drugs. Recent Developments Although Reagan remained a strong anti-drug stance throughout his presidency, much of Reagan’s legislation that he passed occurred in his second term as president. In 1986, Reagan passed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986, the first of a series of acts that made stricter punishments and increased incarceration. This act made the punishment for repeat offenses more severe, changed rehabilitative supervised release to punitive, created minimum sentences for drug possession, allocated an additional $1.7 billion to the War on Drugs, and created a 100 to one punishment disparity for cocaine to crack (five year minimum punishment for possession of 500g cocaine and 5g crack). Later in the same year, Nancy Reagan created her famous “” campaign advocating against drugs. This campaign took her to 65 cities across the world in order to raise awareness to the dangers of drugs. In 1981, crack was first developed. This changed the landscape of the drug market as it was a product extremely high in purity (at least when it first came out) and could be sold for a cheap price. The short but effective high along with the price point made this drug easy to infect inner city communities, many of which contained a majority of African Americans. There is no doubt that of everybody affected by the War on Drugs, the African American community was affected the worst. From 1984-1989, the homicide rate of young African Americans aged 14-24 more than doubled. The arrest rates of African Americans also increased exponentially due to the increase in strictness for crack possession. In fact, the percent of people in jail for a drug-related crime from 1980-1992 rose from 24.9% to 59.7%. While Reagan took an extremely strict stance against drugs, there were some actions taken during his administration that contradict this. The most famous example of this is the US aid of the Nicaraguan Contra rebels. After Congress banned the US from providing funding to the Contra rebels, the US government still continued to do so illegally. Part of the reason that Congress banned the US from providing funding was due to the violence and trafficking of cocaine. The US government admitted that they had knowledge of the cocaine smuggling by the Contra rebels, but denied reports that they were involved with the drug smuggling. In 1996, reporter Gary Webb published a “Dark Alliance” series on San Jose Mercury News that claimed the CIA not only had knowledge of the cocaine smuggling but aided the Contras in smuggling the cocaine into the US to distribute to gangs. Although speculative, these reports led to several CIA investigations due to the large amount of evidence. The investigation was inconclusive, but much of the evidence provided does support the claim that the CIA was aiding drug dealers in exchange for money for arms for the Contras. Much of Reagan’s policies throughout his two terms concerned the domestic problem of drugs, but he also had America and the DEA maintain a heavy hand in international drug affairs. The largest international drug affair in which the US got involved with during Reagan’s presidency was the Colombian conflict. Reagan recognized that the majority of cocaine in America was being made in Colombia and allocated resources to be sent to the Colombian government to aid in their drug war, including arms, money, and personnel. America, during this time, created strong diplomatic ties with Colombia, resulting in an extradition treaty key to the Colombian government’s victory. The war against the Colombian drug cartels would not end during Reagan’s term, but he started the American involvement in the war which was key for Colombian victory. Reagan also got heavily involved in Bolivia, drastically increasing the funding for UMOPAR, a Bolivian based anti- drug task force. The UMOPAR was created by the United State for Bolivia, but it was basically run by the DEA. UMOPAR was one of the most effective anti-drug task forces ever made, but they were not entirely helpful. Although technically Bolivian, they were more loyal to the US, and were involved in kidnappings, coups, murder, torture, and more.

Opinions and Perspectives Democratic Point of View Although the Democrats maintained a strong influence in politics, much of the War on Drugs’ policies were made by a Republican majority legislation. The Democrats did believe in removing the racial disparity caused by the mass incarceration of African Americans. With the War on Drugs, there was a massive spike in the incarceration of minorities due to the 100 to one disparity caused by the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986. The Democrats also believe in the rehabilitation of drug abusers rather than the current policy of incarceration. The Democrats also wanted strict testing for drugs in prisons and with parolees. Lastly, some of the more extreme Democrats wanted the decriminalization of Marijuana. Republican Point of View The Republicans largely supported Reagan’s ideals and policies. The Republicans maintained a strict stance on drug abuse. This included larger prison sentences for drug possessions. The Republicans also supported increasing funding for fighting the War on Drugs and anti-drug campaigns. They also believed that increased incarceration had a direct result on reducing the amount of criminals on the streets. Lastly, they believed the use of military force is imperative in order to fight this “epidemic”. Conclusion Reagan passed a lot of legislation throughout his presidency that both positively and negatively affected his efforts in the War on Drugs. Reagan passed several acts exponentially increasing the funding for anti-drug efforts. He changed the American perspective on drugs from a taboo of a topic to being shunned everywhere. He managed to make American policy on drugs the strictest it has ever been, resulting in the mass incarceration of criminals everywhere. However, much of his actions had several negative effects. Reagan developed a sphere of influence over Latin American nations due to his funding for their anti-drug efforts, at times providing aid to several dictatorial regimes. In America, even with the continuing funding and cracking down on drug abuse, drug abuse and incarceration rates for drug-related crimes were the highest they had ever been. Overall, throughout Reagan’s presidency, he managed to be the most influential president ever regarding the war on drugs. Much of his policies are still affecting domestic and international relationships even to this very day. Questions to Consider  With the federal deficit continuing to rapidly increase, should Reagan pull the plug on the massively expensive War on Drugs?  If not, how will the money be found for the War on Drugs while keeping the smallest possible deficit?  Should the CIA’s anti-communist (and consequently pro-drug) actions in third world nations be curbed or increased?  How should the government prevent further trafficking of drugs into the United States?  What should be done about the racial disparity forming within prisons due to the mass incarceration of African Americans?  With drug use continuing to grow even with increased incarceration for drug- related crimes, should the government shift from a pro-punitive stance to a pro- rehabilitative stance toward drug-related cases? Sources for Additional Research

 Ronald Reagan’s War on Drugs: A Policy Failure but a Political Success by Lotte Berendje Rozemarijn Westhoff

 https://www.gpo.gov/

 http://www.alternet.org/story/18990/reagan%27s_drug_war_legacy/

 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9252490

 https://www.ibhinc.org/combating-illegal-drug-use/

 A War on Drugs or a War on Immigrants? Expanding The Definition Of ‘Drug Trafficking’ In Determining Aggravated Felon Status For Non-Citizens by Jeff Yates, Gabriel Chin, and Todd Collins

 Sealing the Borders: The Effects of Increased Military Participation in Drug Interdiction by Peter Reuter, Gordon Crawford, and Jonathan Cave

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REGANOMICS Introduction Perhaps no aspect of Ronald Reagan’s presidency is so greatly praised—or so heavily criticized—as Reaganomics. Reaganomics is the nickname of President Reagan’s modified version of supply-side economics, which the President hoped would combat the weak economic performance of the 1970s. As inflation and unemployment soared while economic growth stagnated through the mid to late 1970s, public opinion turned against President Carter as Americans blamed him for the so-called “stagflation” that burdened the nation. As Americans searched for a solution, then-governor of Ronald Reagan offered one as he campaigned for the Republican nomination in the 1980 presidential election. Reagan argued economic growth was stifled by heavy tax burdens, excessive regulations, and overspending on social programs. The solution, Reagan believed, was a variation of supply-side economics: lower taxes coupled and less spending on social programs with reduced regulations and increased military spending. According to Reagan, the tax cuts, which would be greatest for those with higher income levels, would leave the rich with more money to invest into products and labor, creating more jobs and spurring production. In turn, Reagan concluded, the federal government would actually collect more tax revenue from the increased production and spending. At the same time, Reagan hoped reduced regulations would allow businesses greater freedom in producing goods and hiring employees while making products less expensive for the consumer, and he thought heightened government investment in military would jumpstart manufacturing industries. Although Congress initially hesitated to support Reagan’s plan of reducing taxes by thirty percent over three years, it eventually passed a twenty-five percent tax cut which at first resulted in a recession from 1981 to 1982. Inflation remained high, and imports dramatically outnumbered exports. However, the economy stabilized in 1983 and continued to grow through the remainder of Reagan’s presidency. Unfortunately, Reagan’s plan cost the federal government trillions as increased military spending hugely outweighed tax revenue. The President had hoped to balance military expenses by cutting social programs, but ran into trouble as he was reluctant to cut such programs as Medicare and Social Security. Under Reagan, the national debt ballooned from one to three trillion dollars (although Republicans blamed Congress’s failure to pass a balanced budget, not Reaganomics, for the increased debt) and the deficit skyrocketed. However, the nation enjoyed a continuing increase in gross domestic product (GDP) and a steady fall in unemployment and inflation rate. History Supply-side economics, the basis for Reaganomics, first appeared with the laissez- faire policies adopted by the American government from the 1870s to the late 1920s. Laissez-faire, an economic ideology which championed as little government involvement in the economy as possible, was initially credited with sparking a long-lasting boom in American production, innovation, and employment, and was largely thought to be responsible for the economic success of the “Roaring Twenties.” However, opponents of laissez-faire blamed it for causing the Great Depression, arguing the government failed to stop irresponsible financial practices by banks and businesses. (Supporters of laissez-faire, though, blamed the Great Depression on President Hoover’s increased federal spending and excessive funding of banks.) Under President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “New Deal” policies, supply-side economics gave way to “demand-side” economics as advocated by economist John Maynard Keynes. Like Reagan, Keynes believed low taxes were important for economic health, but unlike Reagan, Keynes argued heavy government spending on social programs was necessary to stimulate the economy. Keynesian theory remained the dominant economic force in the United States as the nation entered the , although it was often violated as income taxes sometimes skyrocketed as high as ninety-four percent to pay off war debts. By the early 1970s, America was suffering from a new economic phenomenon: stagflation. Stagflation, a period when both inflation and unemployment are high, was virtually unprecedented; before then, inflation had always been low when unemployment was high, or vice versa. Stagflation raged under Presidents Nixon and Ford after several foreign policy incidents and high government spending during the Cold War. For instance, while unemployment surged, a gallon of oil cost up to one hundred and thirty dollars! President Carter attempted to fix stagflation with high government spending and set limits on prices and wages, but was largely unsuccessful as inflation and unemployment both continued to rise. Carter’s only true success came when he began to remove certain business regulations, which reduced unemployment and led to increased spending by the public; ironically, Carter had campaigned against deregulation. In the public’s eye, Carter was incompetent and took the blame for worsening stagflation. As the Republican presidential nominee, Reagan exploited the public’s frustration during his campaign in 1980. With Reagan’s policies in place, unemployment fell and the inflation rate decreased while economic growth increased. Unemployment has dropped from 7.5% in 1981 to 5.4%, and the inflation rate decreased to an average of 4.4% compared to the 8.4% rate when Reagan first took the oath of office. Meanwhile, the GDP grew by 3.5% over Reagan’s presidency. (One should note, however, that 1982 was not so successful as the rest of Reagan’s presidency, with unemployment rising as high as 10.8% and GDP contracting by 1.2%.) Recent Developments This year, 1986, the inflation rate is at 3.9%. This is a slight increase from the inflation rate of 3.5% last year in 1985, but it is a significant decrease from the inflation rate of 11.8% at the beginning of Reagan’s presidency in 1981. This follows the trend of a steady decrease in the inflation rate since Reagan’s inauguration. However, in 1986 the GDP grew slightly from the previous year, with a GDP of $4.590 trillion compared to $4.347 trillion in 1985. Like the inflation rate, this represents a continuing increase in the national GDP, which was $3.211 trillion in 1981 and has continued to grow every year without exception. Recently, it was recorded that the Reagan administration spent $990 billion in federal expenditures this year. Compared to the end of President Carter’s administration in 1980, this represents a 68% increase in federal spending in the past six years. This has led to some criticism by the public, because it has brought concern over the validity of President Reagan’s claim of balancing the deficit as a result of reduced spending on social programs and other government expenditures. Much of the increased spending from this increase is attributed to military spending, but it has brought controversy nonetheless. Opinions and Perspectives Democratic Points of View In general, Democrats opposed and continue to oppose Reaganomics. Some of the most common Democratic criticisms against Reaganomics are that it dramatically increased the deficit, unfairly benefitted the rich, led to too little spending on social programs such as Medicare and Social Security, spent too much federal money on the military, and posed danger to workers, consumers, and the environment as a result of deregulation. Opponents of Reaganomics often call it “trickle-down economics,” suggesting that the majority of its benefits go to the rich while little is left for the poor. Democrats generally oppose Reaganomics with calls for higher taxes to fund more social programs, more regulation of businesses, and reduced (or at least unchanged) military spending. Republican Points of View Republicans, in general, now support Reaganomics. Initially, however, not all Republicans supported Reaganomics; President Ford and then-candidate for the 1980 nomination George H. W. Bush criticized Reagan’s plan as “Voodoo economics” during the primaries. Now, however, Reaganomics is one of the GOP’s core policies, and most Republicans argue that the growth in employment and GDP growth afforded by Reaganomics outweighs the increased deficit and income inequality it causes. Conclusion Although the merits of each can be heavily debated, there are undeniable benefits and drawbacks to Reaganomics. In general, Reaganomics is thought to bring job growth, GDP growth, and lower inflation rates. At the same time, it also raises the deficit and disproportionately benefits the wealthiest Americans. Interestingly, Reaganomics appears to be an “all or nothing” issue; it only works as intended when all aspects of Reagan’s plan are implemented. Ultimately, the conclusion as to whether Reaganomics should be celebrated or criticized, supported or opposed, lies in the question of its morality: do the increased employment, GDP growth, and decreased inflation brought by Reaganomics hold more value than the fairness to the non-wealthy, strong social programs, and healthy deficit that Reaganomics lacks?

Questions to Consider  How should President Reagan’s plan be adjusted or replaced to combat the rising deficit, if at all?  How should the government respond to the continued rise in inflation under Reaganomics, even though the inflation rate itself has decreased?  From where they currently stand under President Reagan’s policies, should the government increase or decrease each of the following: military spending? industrial regulation? taxes? social program spending?  How, if at all, should the government combat increasing inequality between incomes of the rich, middle class, and poor?  What is the ideal budget that Congress should pass under Reagan’s policies? Consider whether a balanced budget is an appropriate step for Congress to pass under Reaganomics, and what it should entail if necessary.

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