The Federal Role After 1980
A milestone and two policies
- Ronald Reagan's victory in the presidential election of 1980 represented an important milestone, allowing conservatives to enact significant tax cuts and continue the deregulation of many industries.
- Continue the deregulation — the CED says deregulation was already under way, so 1980 accelerated rather than started it.
- A milestone marks a point in a longer process, which matches 9.1's newly ascendant rather than newly born.
Select both policies the 1980 victory allowed.
'Continue' means deregulation was already under way.
The argument, and its obstacle
- Conservatives argued that liberal programmes were counterproductive in fighting poverty and stimulating economic growth.
- Some of their efforts to reduce the size and scope of government met with inertia and liberal opposition, as many programmes remained popular with voters.
- Remained popular with voters is the decisive detail: the obstacle was democratic, not merely institutional.
The obstacle to shrinking government was that programmes...
A democratic obstacle, not merely an institutional one.
Debates that continued
- Policy debates continued over free-trade agreements, the scope of the government social safety net, and calls to reform the U.S. financial system.
- Three subjects, and the scope of the... social safety net is 8.9's Great Society still being argued about.
- Conservative beliefs regarding the need for traditional social values and a reduced role for government advanced in U.S. politics after 1980.
A policy enacted, an obstacle, or a continuing debate?
Sort each element of the federal-role argument after 1980.
Select all three policy debates the CED names.
The safety net is 8.9's Great Society still argued about.
The obstacle to reducing government was democratic, not merely institutional. Efforts met with inertia and liberal opposition, as many programmes remained popular with voters — a programme people vote to keep is hard to cut whichever party holds office.
Select all four cultural debates the CED names.
All four were already contested in 8.11 through 8.14.
And cultural debates continued too
- Intense political and cultural debates continued over issues such as immigration policy, diversity, gender roles, and family structures.
- Four subjects, and all four were already contested in 8.11 through 8.14 — the CED's word is continued.
- So this subtopic's whole shape is continuation: the same arguments, with a different balance of power.
This subtopic's shape is ____: the same arguments, a different balance of power.
The CED's own word is 'continued'.
Causes and effects, over time
- The objective is the causes and effects of continuing policy debates about the role of the federal government over time.
- Causes: a boundary the Constitution never fixed (3.9), and programmes that are both criticised and popular.
- Effects: tax cuts, continued deregulation, advanced conservative beliefs — and debates that continued rather than concluded.
A party can win an election on a promise to cut spending and then discover that every line it proposes to cut has a constituency that also voted for it. The mandate and the obstacle came from the same voters.
Ronald Reagan's victory in the presidential election of 1980 represented an important milestone, allowing conservatives to enact significant tax cuts and continue the deregulation of many industries. Conservatives argued that liberal programmes were counterproductive, but efforts to shrink government met with inertia and liberal opposition, as many programmes remained popular with voters. Debates continued over free-trade agreements, the scope of the government social safety net, and calls to reform the U.S. financial system, and intense political and cultural debates continued over... immigration policy, diversity, gender roles, and family structures.