US Elections: The end of Reaganomics?

2020-09-17

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Will the elections usher in a sea-change in economic thinking, after 40 years dominated by small government conservatism?Manuela Saragosa speaks to one small government conservative - Ramesh Ponnuru of the American Enterprise Institute - who says people like him no longer have a home in either of the main political parties. Economist James Galbraith says the scale of the economic challenge posed by the pandemic could compel a much greater role for the Federal government in reviving and restructuring...

Will the elections usher in a sea-change in economic thinking, after 40 years dominated by small government conservatism?

Manuela Saragosa speaks to one small government conservative - Ramesh Ponnuru of the American Enterprise Institute - who says people like him no longer have a home in either of the main political parties. Economist James Galbraith says the scale of the economic challenge posed by the pandemic could compel a much greater role for the Federal government in reviving and restructuring the economy.

But could this election prove as significant as the victory of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his economic New Deal in 1932 - assuming that President Trump even loses? Political scientist Julia Azari says despite Joe Biden's reputation as an unassuming moderate party stalwart, there are parallels with his illustrious Democratic predecessor.

Producer: Laurence Knight

(Picture: A poster of a Ronald Reagan commemorative postage stamp on display as people pass by; Credit: Stephen Osman/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

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