No, Hoover wanted to give subsidies to business so they could hire the unemployed. In other words, first the government takes your money and then gives it back to you, keeping a large amount in the process. Reagan just let people and businesses keep their money to begin with. The other major aspect of it was that since Roosevelt, Democrats borrowed and spent and Republicans worried about borrowed money. Reagan realized that what mattered was not whether the money was gotten by taxation or borrowing, but the total percentage of national income that the government took. He cut taxes sharply and the national debt skyrocketed... but it brought about such prosperity that we could afford to carry the debt. In fact, when Roosevelt campaigned, he sounded more "Republican" than Hoover. He called for lowering taxes, cutting the size of government, reducing regulation, but then promptly reversed himself in office. One campaign promise he did keep, though, and that was to end Prohibition.

Reaganomics, in short, is the term that has been used to describe, , the economic policies of U.S. President Ronald Reagan during the 1980s. Ronald Reagan assumed office during a period of high inflation and unemployment, which had largely abated by the time he left office. No one denies that the economy was a total mess when Jimmy Carter left the White House, and in 1981 it had yet to bottom out. It continues to be a matter of debate to what extent this was caused by Reagan's fiscal policies (especially tax cuts) and to what extent it was due to external factors beyond his control or influence. The small, across the board tax cuts initiated by Reagan at the start of his administration were based on principles from supply-side economics or the trickle-down effect. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, "real economic growth averaged 3.6% during the Reagan years versus 2.8% during the Ford-Carter years and 3.1% during the Bush-Clinton years". A study from the Cato Institute said, "Real median family income grew by $4,000 during the Reagan period after experiencing no growth in the pre-Reagan years; it experienced a loss of almost $1,500 in the post-Reagan years. Reagan critics argue otherwise. Reagan's tax policies were accused of pushing both the international transactions current account and the federal budget into deficit and led to a significant increase in public debt. The job growth under the Reagan administration was an average of 2.1% per year, which is in the middle of the pack of twentieth-century Presidents. Reagan also broke the bank by turning up the spending in the arms race against the Soviet Union, a country that was already on the skids economically. To compare him to Hoover though seems like quite a stretch. When it somes to the charm, Reagan turned it on strong. Even if the substance was not in place, he changed the feeling in America. It seemed as if were really "Morning in America" that is what he will be remebered for. Sidenote: The much maligned David Stockman , Reagan's former Budget Boss, is now a very wealthy and successfull man.