Before 1981, America had fallen into a period of “stagflation,” a portmanteau for “stagnant economy” and “high inflation.” Characterized by high taxes, high unemployment, high interest rates, and weak national spirit, America had to look to something other than Keynesian economics to get out of this predicament. In the 1980 election, Ronald Reagan's campaign focused on a new strand of economic policy. His goal was to transform the economy into "a healthy, vigorous, growing economy [that would] provide equal opportunity to all Americans, without barriers born of intolerance or discrimination." Reagan's policies, later known as "Reaganomics," involved a four-point plan that cut taxes, reduced government spending, created an anti-inflationary policy, and deregulated certain products. Although Reaganomics has been successful in controlling stagflation and promoting economic growth, it has always been and always will be an extremely controversial topic when it comes to wealth redistribution. Immediately after being sworn in, Reagan implemented the first of many tax cuts. The Economic Recovery Tax Act passed in 1981 removed 20 percent from taxes on the highest income levels and 25 percent from taxes on all lowest income levels. Additional tax cuts, implemented in 1986, reduced taxes for high-income people by an additional 28 percent and 15 percent for those with low incomes. These cuts were adopted based on the principle that tax breaks given to the upper strata of society would encourage investment and spending, thereby creating new jobs for low-income people. Although these actions helped America during difficult economic times, they had consequences that are still felt today. During Reagan's presidency, the distribution of wealth shifted unfairly toward individuals...... middle of paper...... the one that got us out of a situation in which we had no never been. Works Cited"American President: Ronald Wilson Reagan: Impact and Legacy." Miller Center. University of Virginia, nd Web. November 10, 2013. Auxier, Richard C. “The Reagan Recession.” Pewresearch.org. Pew Research Center RSS, December 14, 2010. Web. November 13, 2013. Bartlett, Bruce. "Why the Reagan tax cut worked in 1981 and why it wouldn't work today." Capital Gains and Gambling by Stan Collender. CapitalGainsandGames.com, August 13, 2011. Web. November 14, 2013. “LIFE AND TIMES.” REAGAN.ORG FOUNDATION. Np, and Web. November 15, 2013. “Reaganomics.” Ushistory.org. Independence Hall Association in Philadelphia, nd Web. November 12, 2013. “Reaganomics: What We Learned.” » News from the Consortium. Np, and Web. November 15, 2013. Viksnins, George J. “Reaganomics After Twenty Years.” Georgetown.edu. Georgetown University, nd Web. November 12. 2013.