ABSTRACT
In most of the World War II era, it was typically assumed that left-of-center governments in the United States and Great Britain pursued economic policies that contributed to ever-growing increases in public spending and higher taxes. Right-of-center governments, by way of contrast, were normally assumed to support policies that reduced deficit spending and sought lower taxes. These characterizations were reinforced by the elections of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher and by their highly publicized crusade to reverse the wheels of “big government.” Both leaders charged that the enormous welfare state and its twin redistributive engines-structural deficit spending and progressive taxation-were most directly responsible for the economic malaise that both countries experienced in the 1970s. Instituting broad reform proved to be a daunting task, as both leaders faced the formidable problem of convincing embedded interests to dismantle politically desirable public programs. By the end of their terms, both Reagan and Thatcher failed to cultivate the necessary political support required to complete the reforms they initially espoused.
