- In office since
- January 20, 1981
- Left office
- January 20, 1989
- Born
- February 6, 1911
- Died
- June 5, 2004
- Religion
- Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Restorationism, Presbyterianism[2]
Earnings by year1
What each year added up to: salary, plus outside income, royalties, endorsements, prizes and investment income where a source reports them. A financial disclosure gives ranges, shown as such.
- 1988$200,000Total
- President of the United States statutory salary[3]
- $200,000
Life phases1
One octagon for each phase of the life of Ronald Reagan. Each of the eight axes is scored 0 to 5 against a written rubric from documented evidence, with its source; an axis without evidence is a gap, not a zero. There is no total and no ideal shape: it is a profile, not a ranking. Appearance and personality are not axes, because they cannot be scored from evidence.
No total and no ideal shape: a longer spoke means more of that axis, so a long Misconduct spoke is more documented misconduct.
Scores, rubric and sources
- 01Education3 of 5
- High confidenceEureka College B.A. in economics and sociology, 1932.[1]Highest attainment by then: 1 secondary school, 2 some college, 3 bachelor's degree, 4 master's or professional degree, 5 doctorate.
- 02WealthNo evidence
- Net worth or income against the national thresholds of the time: 1 below the median household, 3 top 5%, 5 top 0.1%.
- 03Position5 of 5
- High confidence40th president; re-elected in a landslide over Mondale in 1984.[5]Scope of the role held: 1 entry level, 3 senior manager or legislator, 5 head of state or government, or the top role of a major institution.
- 04Public standing3.5 of 5
- Medium confidenceGallup average job approval of 53% (range 35-68%); low in the mid-30s in 1982-83, final reading 63% (Wikipedia presidency article gives 68% for another poll).[6]Public approval or favourability where it was measured: 1 under 20%, 3 35 to 50%, 5 over 65%.
- 05Health2 of 5
- High confidenceShot by John Hinckley on March 30, 1981 (broken rib, punctured lung, internal bleeding, surgery); colon cancer surgery removing two feet of upper colon on July 13, 1985.[5]Documented health where an examination or disclosure exists: 5 no documented concern, 1 a serious documented condition.
- 06Misconduct1 of 5
- High confidence1 documented matter(s) in the reviewed legal record, counted as the misconduct meter counts them.[4]The documented legal and ethics record within the phase, as in the misconduct meter: 0 none documented, 1 only matters resolved in their favour, 2 an open matter, 3 one finding, 4 two or three, 5 four or more. More is more documented misconduct.
- 07Social good2 of 5
- Low confidenceDid not publicly mention AIDS for months in 1985-86, by 1989 about 60,000 Americans had died, and Congress funded $5.6 billion versus the $2.8 billion proposed; Anti-Drug Abuse Act mandatory minimums with racial disparities; vetoed the Civil Rights Restoration Act (overridden); IRCA gave amnesty to about 3 million.[5]Assessed effects of what they did in the phase on health, safety, education, rights and the environment, from official statistics or peer-reviewed evidence: 0 clearly harmful, 2.5 mixed, 5 clearly beneficial.
- 08Economic good3 of 5
- Medium confidenceUnemployment peaked at 10.8% (December 1982) and fell to 5.3% by 1989; inflation fell from about 12% to under 5%; longest peacetime expansion to that date; but the national debt tripled from $914 billion to $2.7 trillion and deficits peaked at $221.2 billion in FY1986.[5]Assessed effects of what they did in the phase on efficiency, growth and fiscal sustainability, from CBO and peer-reviewed evidence, as in the good-for-society reading: 0 clearly harmful, 2.5 mixed, 5 clearly beneficial.
Health, weight and religion appear only where the person, their physician or a reputable outlet has published them; each links to its source.