The Americans for Bush arm of the National Security Political Action Committee, working with Bush campaign consultants, began running the infamous ‘Weekend Passes’ advertisement featuring William Horton, a Black prisoner who committed crimes while on furlough from a Massachusetts prison. …
George H.W. BushLee AtwaterRoger AilesLarry McCarthyWilliam Horton+2 moreracial-politicsdog-whistle-politicspolitical-advertisingrepublican-partycriminal-justice+1 more
The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act becomes law on August 4, 1988, requiring employers with 100 or more workers to provide 60 days advance notice before plant closings or mass layoffs. Congress passes the bill over President Reagan’s veto threats, responding to the …
U.S. CongressRonald ReaganU.S. Chamber of CommerceAFL-CIOlaborplant-closingsdeindustrializationcorporate-loopholesworker-protection
In August 1988, Ron Arnold and Alan Gottlieb convened the Multiple Use Strategy Conference in Reno, Nevada, launching the “Wise Use” movement. The conference brought together 250 representatives from timber, mining, ranching, and oil interests to coordinate an industry-funded campaign …
Ron ArnoldAlan GottliebCenter for the Defense of Free EnterpriseAmerican Petroleum InstituteNational Mining Association+2 moreenvironmentalastroturfcorporate-lobbyingpublic-landsregulatory-capture+1 more
The Supreme Court rules 5-3 in Communications Workers of America v. Beck that workers covered by union contracts can refuse to pay the portion of dues used for political activities, limiting their payments to collective bargaining costs only. The ruling, based on Taft-Hartley’s Section …
U.S. Supreme CourtCommunications Workers of AmericaHarry BeckNational Right to Work Legal Defense Foundationlaborsupreme-courtunion-duesright-to-workunion-busting+1 more
Between 1988 and 1992, the Department of Justice prosecutes over 1,000 savings and loan bankers for fraud and related crimes during the S&L crisis, with regulators making over 30,000 criminal referrals that produce felony convictions in cases designated as “major” by DOJ. Federal …
Department of JusticeFederal Bureau of InvestigationOffice of Thrift SupervisionS&L executivess&l-crisisprosecutionsaccountabilitywhite-collar-crimejustice-department
Charles H. Keating Jr.’s Lincoln Savings and Loan Association in Irvine, California, was discovered to have $135 million in unreported losses and substantially exceeded risky investment limits. The bank was selling high-risk, uninsured junk bonds to 22,000 unsuspecting investors, many of whom …
Charles H. Keating Jr.Lincoln Savings and Loan Associationfinancial-fraudsavings-and-loan-crisiscorporate-crimeinvestment-fraudwhite-collar-crime
The United States Senate rejected President Reagan’s nomination of Robert Bork to the Supreme Court by a vote of 42-58 on October 23, 1987, marking the first time in nearly a century that the Senate rejected a Supreme Court nominee primarily on the basis of ideology rather than qualifications …
Robert BorkRonald ReaganEdward KennedyLewis PowellAnthony Kennedy+4 moresupreme-courtjudicial-capturefederalist-societyconservative-movementantitrust-abandonment+3 more
The U.S. Senate passes a resolution on the 200th anniversary of the Constitution formally recognizing that “the original framers of the Constitution, including most notably, George Washington and Benjamin Franklin, are known to have greatly admired the concepts, principles and governmental …
U.S. SenateHaudenosaunee ConfederacySix Nationsindigenous-democracyconstitutional-historydemocratic-foundationshistorical-acknowledgmenthaudenosaunee-confederacy
FCC Chairman Dennis R. Patrick’s Commission votes 4-0 to abolish the Fairness Doctrine in the Syracuse Peace Council decision, eliminating the 38-year requirement that broadcast licensees using publicly-owned airwaves must provide balanced coverage of controversial issues and present opposing …
Dennis R. PatrickFederal Communications Commission (FCC)Ronald ReaganMark S. FowlerMimi Weyforth Dawson+3 moremedia-regulationfairness-doctrinederegulationfccregulatory-capture+3 more
CIA Director William Casey dies at age 74 from nervous-system lymphoma, taking critical knowledge of the Iran-Contra scandal to his grave without ever testifying before Congress. Casey dies less than 24 hours after former colleague Richard Secord testifies that Casey supported the illegal aiding of …
William CaseyRonald ReaganRichard Secordiran-contraciareagan-administrationaccountabilitycover-up
Joint congressional hearings on the Iran-Contra affair begin, launching seven weeks of televised testimony that becomes the most-watched series of congressional hearings since the Senate Watergate Committee hearings in 1973. The House Select Committee to Investigate Covert Arms Transactions with …
Oliver NorthJohn PoindexterGeorge ShultzCaspar Weinbergeriran-contracongressional-oversightreagan-administrationaccountabilitymedia
Five U.S. Senators—Alan Cranston (D-CA), Dennis DeConcini (D-AZ), John Glenn (D-OH), John McCain (R-AZ), and Donald Riegle (D-MI)—meet with Federal Home Loan Bank Board officials to pressure them to halt regulatory investigation of Charles Keating’s Lincoln Savings and Loan. The senators had …
Alan CranstonDennis DeConciniJohn GlennJohn McCainDonald Riegle+3 morekeating-fiveregulatory-capturecampaign-contributionslincoln-savingssystematic-corruption+1 more
The Tower Commission delivers its report on the Iran-Contra affair to President Reagan, producing findings widely criticized as a whitewash that shields Reagan from accountability while blaming subordinates for the illegal scheme. The commission, composed of former Senator John Tower, former …
Ronald ReaganJohn TowerEdmund MuskieBrent ScowcroftWilliam Caseyiran-contrareagan-administrationcongressional-oversightaccountabilitycover-up
Comprehensive organizational analysis reveals Cato Institute as mechanism for laundering corporate deregulation agenda as ’libertarian principle.’ Founded in 1977 by Ed Crane, Murray Rothbard, and Charles Koch with $500,000 initial funding from Koch Industries, Cato packages opposition …
Cato InstituteCharles KochEd CraneMurray RothbardPeter Ferrara+3 moreorganizational-profilelibertarian-covercorporate-deregulationkoch-networksocial-security-privatization+3 more
Attorney General Edwin Meese announces that proceeds from secret arms sales to Iran were illegally diverted to fund Nicaraguan Contra rebels, publicly exposing the Iran-Contra scandal that had been revealed three weeks earlier by the Lebanese magazine Ash-Shiraa on November 3. The announcement comes …
National Security Council staff member Oliver North and his secretary Fawn Hall begin systematically shredding documents that would expose illegal activities related to arms sales to Iran and the diversion of proceeds to Nicaraguan Contra rebels. The five-day document destruction campaign, running …
Oliver NorthFawn HallJohn Poindexteriran-contrareagan-administrationobstruction-of-justicecover-upcovert-operations
President Ronald Reagan signs the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA), also known as the Simpson-Mazzoli Act, enacting the first federal law to impose sanctions on employers who knowingly hire undocumented workers while simultaneously granting amnesty to approximately 3 million undocumented …
Ronald ReaganAlan SimpsonRomano MazzoliU.S. Congressimmigration-policyamnestyemployer-sanctionslabor-exploitationregulatory-failure
Congress passes the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986, establishing a 100-to-1 sentencing disparity between crack cocaine and powder cocaine offenses—imposing the same penalties for possession of 5 grams of crack cocaine as for 500 grams of powder cocaine. The legislation provided mandatory minimum …
Ronald ReaganCongressmass-incarcerationracial-justicewar-on-drugscriminal-justicesentencing-reform+1 more
On October 22, 1986, President Ronald Reagan signed the Tax Reform Act of 1986 (TRA86) into law, implementing the most dramatic restructuring of the federal tax code since World War II. The legislation reduced the number of individual income tax brackets from 16 to just 2, slashing the top marginal …
Ronald ReaganDan RostenkowskiBob PackwoodBill BradleyJack Kemp+2 moretax-policyreagan-administrationsupply-side-economicswealth-transfercorporate-corruption+3 more
Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) launches its initial public offering on NASDAQ under the symbol CCAX, selling 2 million shares at $9 per share and raising $18 million to fund expansion. Despite struggling for profitability in its first three years, the company convinces Wall Street …
Corrections Corporation of America (CCA)Thomas W. BeasleyNASDAQVanderbilt University Law SchoolJack C. Masseyprivate-prisonprison-industrial-complexwall-streetmass-incarcerationinstitutional-investment+1 more
President Reagan vetoes the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986, calling economic sanctions against South Africa’s white minority regime “economic warfare” and claiming they would hurt the impoverished Black majority. Reagan’s veto represents the culmination of his …
Ronald ReaganDesmond Tutuforeign-policyhuman-rightsapartheidsouth-africareagan-administration
President Reagan signs the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986 (COBRA), which includes the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) requiring hospitals with emergency departments to screen and stabilize any patient regardless of ability to pay. While framed as …
Ronald ReaganAmerican Hospital AssociationHealth Insurance Association of AmericaPete Starkhealthcareunfunded-mandateemergency-carecost-shiftingregulatory-capture
In 1986, the Madison Group was established as an informal confederation of state-level think tanks and their supporters, named after the Madison Hotel in Washington, DC where they first met. This network, which would be formalized as the State Policy Network (SPN) in 1992, represented the extension …
Thomas A. RoeAmerican Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)Heritage FoundationSouth Carolina Policy CouncilHeartland Institutethink-tank-infrastructurestate-capturealec-coordinationpowell-memo-implementationcoordinated-networks
President Reagan signs a finding on December 5, 1985, retroactively authorizing covert arms sales to Iran already conducted by National Security Advisor Robert McFarlane, formalizing an illegal shadow foreign policy run through the National Security Council. McFarlane had undertaken the sale of …
Robert McFarlaneJohn PoindexterOliver NorthRonald Reaganiran-contrareagan-administrationnsccovert-operationsconstitutional-crisis
Hollywood icon Rock Hudson dies at age 59 of AIDS complications, becoming the first major U.S. celebrity to die of the disease and forcing President Reagan to finally acknowledge the epidemic publicly. Hudson’s death marks a turning point: Reagan had maintained complete public silence on AIDS …
Rock HudsonRonald ReaganNancy ReaganC. Everett Koopaidsrock-hudsonreaganpublic-healthlgbtq+1 more
Israel sends 96 American-made BGM-71 TOW anti-tank missiles to Iran through arms dealer Manucher Ghorbanifar, marking the first covert arms shipment in what becomes the Iran-Contra scandal. Hours after receiving the weapons, the Islamic fundamentalist group Islamic Jihad releases one American …
Ronald ReaganRobert McFarlaneOliver NorthManucher Ghorbanifariran-contrareagan-administrationforeign-policyarms-traffickingcovert-operations
United Food and Commercial Workers Local P-9 workers at Hormel’s flagship Austin, Minnesota plant strike against wage cuts from $10.69 to $8.25 per hour, seeking to maintain the meatpacking industry’s traditional “pattern bargaining” where major companies matched union wage …
HormelUnited Food and Commercial Workers Local P-9Austin Minnesota workersNational Guardlabor-suppressionstrike-breakingpermanent-replacementunion-bustingmeatpacking+1 more
In May 1985, Carl Icahn orchestrated a hostile takeover of Trans World Airlines (TWA), becoming a quintessential example of 1980s corporate raiding. Icahn acquired 50% of TWA through a leveraged buyout, eventually taking full control by 1988. His strategy involved systematically selling the …
Carl IcahnTrans World AirlinesAmerican Airlinescorporate-raidingasset-strippingleveraged-buyoutscorporate-destruction1980s-financial-history
Several Opus Dei members and sympathizers gain positions in the Reagan Administration, including key roles in economic policy and judicial nominations. This marks the beginning of systematic Opus Dei influence in Republican politics, particularly around conservative economic and social policies. By …
Ronald ReaganOpus Dei MembersRepublican Partyreagan-administrationopus-deirepublican-politicsconservative-influence
On January 31, 1985, the Republican-controlled Idaho Legislature overrides Democratic Governor John Evans’ veto to enact so-called “Right-to-Work” legislation, making Idaho the 21st state to prohibit union security agreements that require workers to pay union dues or fees as a …
Idaho Republican PartyIdaho LegislatureGovernor John EvansIdaho Department of LaborMining unions+1 morelabor-suppressionright-to-workanti-unionwage-suppressionlegislative-capture
The Council of Conservative Citizens (CofCC) is founded in 1985 by former White Citizens’ Council members to continue the agendas of the earlier Councils, which had steadily lost members throughout the 1970s and 1980s as white Southerners’ attitudes towards desegregation began to change …
Robert B. PattersonLester MaddoxGordon Lee BaumCouncil of Conservative CitizensFormer White Citizens' Councils memberscouncil-of-conservative-citizenswhite-citizens-councilssegregationist-infrastructureconservative-movementorganizational-continuity
On December 3, 1984, a catastrophic gas leak at Union Carbide’s pesticide plant in Bhopal, India killed an estimated 3,800 people immediately and up to 16,000 in the following weeks. Hundreds of thousands suffered long-term health effects. The disaster exposed how multinational corporations …
Union Carbide CorporationWarren AndersonIndian governmentU.S. chemical industryChemical Manufacturers Associationenvironmentalcorporate-negligencepollutionpublic-healthinternational+1 more
On October 30, 1984, President Ronald Reagan signed the Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984, fundamentally deregulating the cable television industry and setting the stage for massive media consolidation. Written and championed by conservative Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona, the act amended …
Ronald ReaganBarry GoldwaterFederal Communications Commission (FCC)Cable industrymedia-deregulationcorporate-consolidationregulatory-capturereagan-administrationmedia-infrastructure
Congress passes the most restrictive version of the Boland Amendment, explicitly prohibiting any U.S. government agency involved in intelligence activities from providing support for military or paramilitary operations in Nicaragua. The amendment, effective from October 3, 1984, to December 3, 1985, …
Edward BolandRonald Reaganiran-contracongressional-oversightnicaraguareagan-administrationconstitutional-law
President Reagan signs the Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act, known as Hatch-Waxman, which ostensibly balances pharmaceutical innovation incentives with generic competition but creates loopholes that brand-name manufacturers exploit to extend monopoly pricing for decades. The …
Orrin HatchHenry WaxmanRonald ReaganPharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of Americahealthcarepharmaceutical-industryregulatory-capturepatent-abuselobbying
Robert Maxwell acquires Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) from Reed International for £113 million in July 1984, gaining control of six British newspapers including the Daily Mirror. This strategic acquisition significantly expanded Maxwell’s media influence in Britain and triggered an intense …
Robert MaxwellMirror Group NewspapersReed InternationalDaily MirrorRupert Murdochrobert-maxwelldaily-mirrormedia-acquisitionmirror-group-newspapersmedia-empire+2 more
Seven chemical companies including Dow and Monsanto agree to pay $180 million to thousands of Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent Orange, settling the class action lawsuit out of court just before trial. Monsanto alone pays slightly over 45% of the settlement sum. All seven companies, having been …
Dow Chemical CompanyMonsanto CompanyVietnam VeteransSeven Chemical CompaniesJudge Jack B. Weinsteincorporate-corruptionwar-profiteeringhealth-crisisaccountability-failureveterans-issues
The failure of Empire Savings of Mesquite, Texas exposes systematic “land flip” fraud schemes that would eventually cost taxpayers $300 million. The failure reveals coordinated criminal networks exploiting deregulated thrift powers, including inflated real estate appraisals, circular …
Empire SavingsEdwin GrayFederal Home Loan Bank BoardTexas Real Estate NetworksReagan Administration+1 moreempire-savingsland-flip-frauds&l-crisisedwin-graysystematic-fraud+1 more
Charles Keating, through American Continental Corporation, purchases Lincoln Savings and Loan for $51 million. Exploiting the deregulated environment created by Garn-St Germain, Keating rapidly expands Lincoln’s assets from $1.1 billion to $5.5 billion over four years through high-risk real …
Charles KeatingAmerican Continental CorporationLincoln Savings and LoanKeating Five SenatorsFederal Home Loan Bank Boardcharles-keatinglincoln-savingsfraudkeating-fiveregulatory-capture+1 more
Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) opens the first adult detention facility to be fully managed and run by a private corporation in the United States in over a century. After winning “the first contract ever to design, build, finance and operate a secure correctional facility” from …
Corrections Corporation of America (CCA)Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS)T. Don HuttoThomas W. Beasleyprivate-prisonimmigration-detentionprison-industrial-complexinstitutional-capturereagan-era
By 1984, ALEC’s corporate membership had grown so rapidly that Executive Director Kathleen Teague reported corporations were overwhelming the organization’s capacity. Major corporations supporting ALEC that year included Edison Electric Institute, Procter & Gamble Co., Mary Kay …
American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)Kathleen TeagueEdison Electric InstituteProcter & GambleEli Lilly+5 morecorporate-capturelegislative-capturealeccorporate-membershiplobbying+1 more
President Reagan sends Donald Rumsfeld as a special envoy to Baghdad to meet with Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, establishing formal diplomatic relations and initiating a strategic partnership during the Iran-Iraq War. The now-infamous handshake between Rumsfeld and Hussein symbolizes the Reagan …
Donald RumsfeldSaddam HusseinRonald Reaganforeign-policyiraqreagan-administrationwar-crimeschemical-weapons
A federal jury convicts EPA official Rita Lavelle of perjury for lying to Congress about her handling of the $1.6 billion Superfund toxic waste cleanup program. Lavelle, who headed the Superfund division, is found guilty on four of five felony counts for false testimony regarding her knowledge that …
Rita LavelleEnvironmental Protection Agency (EPA)Aerojet-General CorporationRonald ReaganCongressepaperjurysuperfundconflict-of-interestregulatory-capture+1 more
The Amalgamated Transit Union ends its 47-day strike against Greyhound Lines on November 2, 1983, after the company successfully operates with permanent replacement workers, demonstrating that Reagan’s PATCO strategy translates to the private sector. Greyhound CEO Fred Currey demanded 9.5 …
Greyhound LinesAmalgamated Transit UnionFred Curreylaborstrikepermanent-replacementunion-bustingtransportation+1 more
Interior Secretary James Watt announces his resignation after describing a department panel as having “a black, a woman, two Jews and a cripple,” mocking affirmative action. Watt resigns within three weeks of the September comments amid bipartisan condemnation. His controversial 33-month …
James WattRonald ReaganDepartment of InteriorBeach Boysinterior-departmentenvironmental-deregulationracismregulatory-capturepublic-lands
South Dakota became the first U.S. state to abolish the common-law Rule Against Perpetuities, ending centuries of legal precedent designed to prevent families from holding wealth in trusts forever. The legislature enacted SDCL Section 43-5-8 declaring “The common-law rule against perpetuities …
South Dakota Legislaturetax-evasionwealth-concentrationregulatory-captureinstitutional-capturefinancial-secrecy
Over 2,000 copper miners strike against Phelps Dodge Corporation at its Morenci, Ajo, Douglas, and Bisbee operations in Arizona and El Paso refinery in Texas, seeking to maintain wages and benefits amid the company’s demand for concessions. Following Reagan’s PATCO precedent, Phelps …
Phelps Dodge CorporationUnited SteelworkersArizona minersNational Labor Relations Boardlabor-suppressionstrike-breakingpermanent-replacementunion-bustingmining+1 more
On April 26, 1983, the National Commission on Excellence in Education released “A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform,” a report that fundamentally reshaped American education discourse and laid the ideological groundwork for decades of privatization efforts. The …
National Commission on Excellence in EducationSecretary of Education Terrel BellRonald ReaganHeritage Foundationeducationprivatizationreagan-eramanufactured-crisisschool-choice+1 more
The Social Security Amendments of 1983 establish Medicare’s Prospective Payment System (PPS), fundamentally transforming hospital economics by replacing cost-based reimbursement with fixed payments based on Diagnosis Related Groups (DRGs). Under the new system, hospitals receive a …
Ronald ReaganRichard SchweikerAmerican Hospital AssociationFederation of American Hospitalshealthcaremedicareregulatory-capturehospital-industrycost-shifting
Anne Gorsuch Burford resigns as EPA Administrator after becoming the first cabinet-level official in American history held in contempt of Congress. Gorsuch had refused to turn over Superfund records related to a $1.6 billion hazardous waste cleanup program, citing executive privilege on …
Anne Gorsuch BurfordRonald ReaganCongressEnvironmental Protection Agency (EPA)Neil Gorsuchepaenvironmental-deregulationregulatory-capturecontempt-of-congresssuperfund+1 more