Ronald Reagan was president of the United States.
Reaganomics ( [ reɪgəˈnɒmɪks ] a portmanteau of [ Ronald ] Reagan and economics attributed to Paul Harvey ) refers to the economic policies promoted by U.S. President Ronald Reagan during the 1980s . Ronald Wilson Reagan ( [ ˈrɒnəld_ˈwɪlsən_ˈreɪɡən ] ) ( February 6 , 1911 -- June 5 , 2004 ) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th President of the United States from 1981 to 1989 . His supply-side economic policies , dubbed `` Reaganomics '' , advocated tax rate reduction to spur economic growth , control of the money supply to curb inflation , economic deregulation , and reduction in government spending .