Summary

Many Americans were doubted the efficacy of government intervention. Vietnam and Watergate didn’t help that view. What was perceived as the extreme liberal activism of the 1960s that included the war on poverty, federal aid to schools and Medicare and Medicaid, was also in the mix. This attitude fostered stalemates in the implementation or continuation of some federal programs. Nixon voiced his dissatisfaction with mandated busing and was against any form of social engineering. There was high unemployment and high inflation. Taxpayers were angry. Frustrated white workers struck out at blacks who were behind riots that destroyed cities and cost taxpayers huge amounts of money to rebuild. Working class whites, including those in the North, were not in the mood for more activism or pushes for civil rights.

President Carter tried to revitalize some governmental programs. President Reagan declared that government was...