Reaganomics (commonly referred to as trickle-down economics) are the economic policies promoted by Ronald Reagan during his presidency in the 1980’s. The four pillars of Reagan's economic policy were to reduce the growth of government spending, reduce the federal income tax and capital gains tax, reduce government regulation, and tighten the money supply in order to reduce inflation. Spending during Reagan's two terms averaged 22.4% GDP, well above the 20.6% GDP average from 1971 to 2009. In addition, the public debt rose from 26% GDP in 1980 to 41% GDP by 1988. In dollar terms, the public debt rose from $712 billion in 1980 to $2.052 trillion in 1988, a roughly threefold increase. The unemployment rate rose from 7% in 1980 to 11% in 1982,
