What explains this turn-around in the American economy? There are conflicting views. Reagan's supporters point to the 1981 tax cuts. Other Reagan admirers trace the economic boom to the administration's 1982 tax increases to counter the growing budget deficits. The Federal Reserve, blamed by some for the recession because of its tight-money policy, was praised by others for deciding in 1982 to relax its controls over the money supply. On the margins, Reagan's massive defense spending added to the economic boom, which was also propelled by larger macroeconomic trends in business, industry, technology, and the workforce.
Despite Reagan's anti-regulatory rhetoric, the administration's success in eliminating and simplifying regulations was mixed. His success varied from agency to agency; in some of them, Reagan appointees managed to slow the promulgation of new regulations, while in others the bureaucracy held sway. One issue on which Reagan's action matched his rhetoric was the end of price controls on oil, which he ordered upon entering office. Prices fell immediately. Reagan also ordered the relaxation of regulations guiding corporate mergers, setting off a flurry of both hostile and friendly takeovers.
Reagan was very heavily criticised for doing nothing about this when the problem was first revealed. However, by the end of his term as president, he had made around $2 billion a year available for HIV and AIDS research and prevention. Reagan was criticised by some people for doing too much in supporting research into the disease, while others criticised him for not doing enough.
Second, he opposed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. When he was running for governor of California in 1966, Reagan assailed the Fair Housing Act, saying, "If an individual wants to discriminate against Negroes or others in selling or renting his house, it is his right to do so."
For others, Reagan’s promise that “a rising tide lifts all boats” has seemed to work. Oscar Watson, a wiry tobacco farmer in Popes Creek, Md., on the banks of the Potomac, credits the President with dramatically improving his economic life. “This country is really booming,” said Watson, who voted for Reagan in 1984. “Making a decent living is the first thing. And race is the second thing.”
