Since his tenure in office ended, Ronald Reagan gained a reputation as a great president for his role in helping to bring the Cold War to an end and his ability to sell a vision of American life to the U.S. voter that was inspiring. Since the 1980s, the U.S. economy has experienced recessions but has rarely experienced the inflation, unemployment, and high taxation that Reagan inherited. On the other hand, the impact of Reagan’s policies on the United States at the time tends to be forgotten. Reagan believed in “supply-side economics”—in short, the notion that if the government put more money into people’s pockets instead of taking it out in taxes, taxpayers would spend more money and boost the economy. However, Reagan’s tax cuts went almost entirely to the wealthy during his eight years in office.