> The 1982 tax increase undid a third of the initial tax cut. In 1983 Reagan instituted a payroll tax increase on Social Security and Medicare hospital insurance. [25] In 1984 another bill was introduced that closed tax loopholes. According to tax historian Joseph Thorndike, the bills of 1982 and 1984 "constituted the biggest tax increase ever enacted during peacetime". [26]
Also,
>> said the Reaganites who increased taxes on the middle class and increased foreign war expenditures and future obligations:
To clarify, Reagan reduced taxes for the wealthiest the most, thus shifting the effective tax burden to the middle class and increasing inequality.
"Changes in poverty, income inequality, and the standard of living in the United States during the Reagan years" https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8500951/#:~:text=The%20rate%... :
> The rate of poverty at the end of Reagan's term was the same as in 1980. Cutbacks in income transfers during the Reagan years helped increase both poverty and inequality. Changes in tax policy helped increase inequality but reduced poverty.
Gini Index: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gini_coefficient
GINI Index for the United States: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/SIPOVGINIUSA
"Make America Great Again": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Make_America_Great_Again
At that time - during the 1970s and 1980s - Federal Debt as a percentage of GDP was much lower than it is today; 30-53% in the 1980s and 120% of GDP in 2024 :
> Federal Debt: Total Public Debt as Percent of Gross Domestic Product" https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/GFDEGDQ188S