I know economic inequality was on a rise before his presidency but there was a notable spike during it, does anyone know why this happened?
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It all started with Johnson and the Vietnam War.
LBJ underestimated how much the war would cost. The US was flying bombing missions day and night, and all those bombs were made of steel. US factories were working hard to keep up. This meant that Japan and Germany couldn’t buy US steel, and started making their own steel.
Nixon kept doing the same thing LBJ had done; bombing day and night. In fact, Nixon increased the bombing.
When the Arab Oil boycott hit, America was triply screwed. We couldn’t just leave the War, we had to pay increased prices for everything made with oil, and our industrial base was no longer the most powerful in the world. This is when you started hearing the phrase ‘Rust Belt.’
The Iran Hostage Crisis deserves it’s own book, so I’ll just say that Jimmy Carter lost in 1980 and Reagan rolled in.
What Reagan realized was that if the richest folks kept spending, you could make the economy look strong, even if it was falling apart. By cutting taxes for the top earners, he created a bubble economy. It didn’t matter that homelessness was increasing; the rich could afford bigger cars and nicer houses.
Here’s one program Reagan torpedoed. CETA Comprehensive Education and Training Act provided jobs and training for low income folks. You’d get a pay check and learn a skill. That was out.
The homeless thing deserves a mention; Reagan, as California Governor, cut spending on the state’s mental hospitals. That caused a big spike in homelessness there. He knew about it, and decided the whole country should share in the fun.
tl, dr= In 1968 when Republican Nixon became President, ‘middle class’ was one Union job paying to support a family of four. By the time Bush Sr. left office in 1992, ‘middle class’ was two college grads stuggling to keep the house going. There was one Dem President in all that time.
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