Political Science

Touch of Class

Social Class and the Tax Reform Act of 1986

Taxation has long been a contentious issue among the different classes of American society. The 1960s witnessed the beginning of the end of the old industrial economy. The 1970s saw the remains of American heavy industry move from the Rustbelt of the Midwest and Northeast to the Sunbelt of the South.

Increasingly, the service sector came to dominate the national economy. Population shifts, changes in technology, and a more mobile workforce - each played its part in creating a climate that was ripe for change. In the 1980s, Ronald Reagan proposed his "Supply Side Economics." Cuts in capital gains taxes for the wealthy would provide a stimulus for the entire economy. Benefits accrued from the excess capital would "trickle down" to the masses. The idea was embraced by diehard conservatives, but viciously attacked by many other...
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