Reaganomics: Is It Finally Working?

We’ve heard much in recent months about the long-awaited recovery of the U.S. economy. After four years of virtual stagnation, the economic news out of Washington has been decidedly upbeat since this spring. The stock market began to surge late last summer, anticipating some improvement in the economy; but it wasn’t until this year that hard economic data first showed evidence of an upturn. Industrial output began to rise, housing starts increased, new unemployment claims slackened, and—as some of the millions of laid-off workers were recalled to their jobs—the overall rate of unemployment finally began to descend from its postwar peak of 10.8 percent in December 1982.

...