13 Reasons People Claim Reagan Was a Terrible President

13 Reasons People Claim Reagan Was a Terrible President Ronald Reagan was the 40th United States president. He served two terms, from 1980-1988, winning both elections by more than 50 percent. Although there are a lot of examples of the good he performed as America's leader, here are 13 ways people claim he was actually a terrible president. Impact On The Economy When Reagan entered the Oval Office for his first term, the unemployment rate was just over seven percent. His economic policies that cut funds for welfare brought the poverty level to 15 percent. The unemployment rate jumped to nearly 11 percent. Terrorists Although Reagan promised not work with terrorists or their supporting states, he broke his word. He was involved in a scandal that offered weapons to Iran in an exchange for hostages, though that didn't stop more hostages from being abducted. He Lied Reagan made up falsehoods about himself and others. He was never involved in filming Nazi death camps, nor was there ever an actual "Chicago Welfare Queen" who received over $100k from welfare. The Budget Deficit Although he had much to say about Carter's budget deficit, Reagan's budget deficit hit over $200 billion. Crime In The U.S. The War on Drugs utilized billions and didn't stop the crime. The national rate for crimes of violence went up to 21 percent during his years in office. Crime Among The Administration More than 130 members of the Reagan administration were either investigated for or convicted of some kind of crime. The Defense Problem Reagan upped the budget for defense six years in a row. The AIDS Epidemic Despite deaths increasing twofold each year, Reagan ignored the disease for the first several years of its growing epidemic and proposed cuts for research funding in 1986. Social Security Tax cuts from Reagan caused government funding to dwindle, which increased the deficit. Reagan then dipped into Social Security funds to make up for the loss, and the money was never replaced. The Education System School aid was cut by over a billion dollars during Reagan's office run, along with a nearly 20 percent budget cut for the Department of Education. He Supported Apartheid Congress passed the Anti-Apartheid Act in 1986 to stop this practice. Reagan vetoed it. Star Wars During the 10 years from 1983-93, taxpayers forked over more than $30 billion for the Strategic Defense Initiative. PATCO Although PATCO endorsed Reagan in his first elected term, he responded by ending their strike, allowing only two days to cancel it. This was in spite of their legitimate complaints.