The inside story of how the Republicans abandoned the poor and the middle class to pursue their relentless agenda of tax cuts for the wealthiest one percent.

Traditionally, the U.S. government ran significant budget deficits only in times of war or economic emergency. Both Reagan and Bush ran up sizable budget deficits, but these deficits were dwarfed by the rise in private debt, made possible by the financial deregulation of the Reagan administration. The change in America’s financial rules was Reagan’s biggest legacy. And it’s the gift that keeps on taking.