Fact check: The economy does better under Democratic leadership, and always has. The New York Times reported in February 2021 that: “Since 1933, the economy has grown at an annual average rate of 4.6 percent under Democratic presidents and 2.4 percent under Republicans.” [Source]¹

Roberts goes on to boast that by the time Reagan left office, 60% of the Heritage Foundation’s recommendations had become law.

So, let’s examine Reagan’s presidency. What was the lasting impact? Reagan claimed that his tax cuts would produce prosperity even as the 1980’s recession got worse. The National Debt tripled under his presidency. Without going into it here, here’s a good explanation of his economic policy, “Reaganomics.”²

Reagan reduced taxes substantially for the wealthy (top marginal tax rate on individual income was reduced from 70% to 28%.) He eliminated price controls on oil and natural gas, cable TV, phone service, interstate bus service, and ocean shipping. He deregulated antitrust laws, leading to the most bank failures since the 1930’s.

“Yes, there was an economic boom in the mid-80’s, as the economy recovered from a severe recession. But while the rich got much richer, there was little sustained economic improvement for most Americans. By the late 1980’s, middle-class incomes were barely higher than they had been a decade before and the poverty rate had risen.” Paul Krugman, The New York Times, 2008³

The result of Reagan’s economic policies were, in a nutshell, that the rich got richer, and the increased wealth gap widened the divide between the rich and the poor, dwindling the middle class. The Heritage Foundation shares these economic policies, favoring even more deregulation than Reagan did.