When we look back at the Reagan tax cuts, they were across the board, benefitting both suppliers and consumers. Reagan, however, chose to outspend the Soviets on defense. In a short-sighted sense, this was wasted money in that defense spending did little for the general economy. In the longer view, the fall of the Soviet empire had great benefits to America and the world in general. Without the Soviet threats and with a true cutting of government spending, the economy would have blossomed even more than it did.