Ronald Reagan is generally well-liked by Americans. He is especially garnered as one of the best presidents of all time by the American Right and disliking him is certainly a very unpopular opinion in The United States of America. However, he may not be the best beacon of American prosperity, especially for lower-income individuals.

     To begin, Ronald Reagan funded an armed conflict in Nicaragua illegally. When Americans were held hostage in Lebanon by Iranian-supported terrorists, Ronald Reagan sold missiles and arms to Iran in an attempt to support the Iranian effort in The Iran-Iraq war. In return for the American hostages, (Mainly Diplomats and Hired Contractors) Reagan, with the money earned from the arms deal, unlawfully funded a conflict in Nicaragua. This scandal threatened his presidential reputation.

     At home, Reagan signed several bills raising sentences for drug offenses. Specifically, The Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986. This bill and other things raised the minimum sentence of Crack Cocaine possession of 5 grams and over to five years in prison without the possibility of parole. This does not seem all bad until you consider that the same sentence of 5 years was given for the possession of 500 grams of powder cocaine. If you are wondering why this is a ”big deal”, Crack Cocaine was predominantly used by lower-income individuals, especially African Americans. Ronald Reagan was no stranger to racism towards People of Color. On October 25, 1971, Reagan called Richard Nixon to vent his frustration over UN delegates who defied the United States of America in a vote to recognize The People’s Republic of China. During the call, Mr. Reagan said to Mr. Nixon, “To see those, those monkeys from those African countries—damn them, they’re still uncomfortable wearing shoes.” To which Mr. Nixon gave a lengthy laugh, but I digress. This solidified Ronald Reagan’s long legacy of racism.

     Lastly, President Reagan decimated social programs, most importantly, his social welfare reforms. President Reagan signed bills making it much harder to “cheat” the welfare system, cracking down on fraud. However, in the process, millions of Americans lost much-needed benefits. Another example is his cut of Food Stamps. Ronald Reagan left millions of families and single mothers without food on the plate. This sharply contrasts the actions of President Nixon and Republicans before Reagan. During The 1973 State of The Union Address, President Nixon exclaimed, “During the past four years, Federal outlays for food assistance have increased more than threefold.”

     In conclusion, Ronald Reagan was not a hero and was extremely harmful to lower-class individuals, and the African American Community.

By: Bryson Stewart