Over the past century, the United States has been considered the greatest hegemonic power in the world. The United States has played the most important role in the progress of humanity from a social, political, scientific, military and economic point of view. Unfortunately, today this is no longer true. Since the 1980s, the United States has experienced a gradual decline. The introduction and implementation of trickle-down economics, also known as “Reaganomics,” contributed greatly to the systemic dismantling of the socioeconomic structure that made America great. When President Reagan took office, the United States was at the bottom of the pack in global economic prosperity. World War II had created. The United States was experiencing the highest inflation rates since 1947 (13.6% in 1980), unemployment rates reaching 10% in 1982, and no increase in GDP. To combat the country's recession, President Reagan implemented the first stages of trickle-down economics – a short-term solution to stimulate the economy. Taxes at the top fell from 70% to 28% while GDP recovered. However, this short-term growth has only masked the real problem. Many argue that Reagan "enacted irresponsible tax cuts for the wealthy... [starving] the federal government of revenue [which] led to unprecedented deficits." There is no doubt that “current budget deficits [can] impoverish our descendants.”1 Since 1980, America has experienced a rapid and dramatic shift in the distribution of income between the top 1 percent and the rest of the country. . The charts below from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities show how tax policies implemented by the Reagan administration have compounded over the past thirty-three years to create drastic income disparities.W.... .. middle of paper..... .der.com/here-are-25-more-signs-that-america-is-not-1-2012-6>.Stone, Chad, Danilo Trisi, Arloc Sherman and William Chen. “Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.” A statistical guide to historical trends in income inequality. Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, November 6, 2013. Web. December 3, 2013. Talbott, John R. Obamanomics: How bottom-up economic prosperity will replace trickle-down economics. New York: Seven Stories, 2008. Print. Thompson, Derek. "The Atlantic". The Atlantic. Reuters, November 22, 2013. Web. December 5, 2013. .US Government. “World oil consumption in 2012”. Country. U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2012. Web. December 3. 2013. .