ABSTRACT
In January 1981, the new president’s inaugural address launched the key phrase that would mark a substantial proportion of his two mandates: less state intervention in the economy. With these words, Reagan launched what was essentially a set of measures to re-start the economy based on a supply side approach: tax cuts for medium to high incomes and companies in order to stimulate consumption and investments, reduced spending on social services, and less state intervention in the labour market. Japan’s economic solidity allowed the country’s investors to buy some of the historic symbols of American industry. In 1988, Bridgestone was able to buy Firestone, winning the contest with Pirelli. In September 1989, Sony bought one of the Hollywood giants, Columbia Pictures, for $4.4 billion from Coca Cola, its owner since 1982. Pentagon officials were concerned that defence production was falling in many base industries, Unstable leadership putting the production capacity of the entire US industrial system at risk.
