To those crediting Reagan for taming inflation in the 80’s, that's not actually what happened. In 1979, under Carter, Paul Volcker began raising the fed funds rate (like now). By December 1980, it had reached 20%. Those high rates are what choked off economic growth, and triggered the recession of 1981-1982. Reagan wasn’t President until Jan 1981, he just got the credit because he was President by the time the policy started working. Volcker's policies knocked inflation down to 3.8% by 1983. There is always a lag time between policy implementation and the effect it has on the economy.