Actually, I know it because I was there. I was Andrew Benavie's teacher's assistant. He was head of the OMB in Reagan's administration. They were using the Chicago model of Macroeconomics. As an econometrics specialist, it was my job to crunch the numbers. There was a bar in Chapel Hill, called "He's not Here", pretty funny. But every Thursday the Economics department got together there to drink. The arguments between Benavie and myself were legendary. I told him that the numbers for Reagan's tax cuts didn't add up. There was a huge underestimation of the savings function when it came to aggregate demand. The tax cuts would not deliver more revenue, and in fact, would be a drag on the economy. Reagan, and Benavie, soon learned I was correct, and Reagan instigated the biggest tax increase in American history in terms of percentage of GDP. That, and Volcker, was what stopped rampant inflation. And to put icing on the cake, Benavie became a celloist with the New York symphony and withdrew from academia.
The tax cuts would not deliver more revenue, and in fact, would be a drag on the economy.
Less government revenue is a drag on the economy?
Reagan instigated the biggest tax increase in American history in terms of percentage of GDP.
What were the rates before he hiked them? What were they after?