Four decades strong: the 1980s: big hair, big president, big shoulders.

• Author: Kurtz, Karl
• Position: 40TH ANNIVERSARY

It may have been the big-hair decade in fashion, but politically, the 1980s belonged to Ronald Reagan (a bit of a big-hair guy himself). He and his vice president, George H.W. Bush, occupied the White House for all but the first year of the decade.

The 1980s followed a period of tight state budgets, when almost all new program growth was "through federal grants, in response to federal--not state--priorities," reported this magazine in October 1980. Congress had just created the U.S. Department of Education, and NCSL was instrumental in getting the legislation amended to ensure the new department would not "increase the responsibility of the federal government over education nor diminish the responsibility for education which is reserved to states."

In 1981 the country was in the beginning of a severe national recession, a citizen-led tax revolt and a general backlash against social welfare policies. California's 1978 Proposition 13, which slashed property taxes, was spreading and by 1982, 13 states had adopted their own tax or spending limits.

Enter President Reagan.

In his quest to reduce the growth of government spending, federal taxes, and federal regulations, his administration sharply cut grants to state and local governments. Congress, too, cut out the state share of general revenue sharing in 1981 (although the local government share continued until 1986).

There was talk of a "new federalism," devolving authority from the federal government back to the states with several proposals and numerous debates about the states swapping roles with the feds to run welfare, food stamps and Medicaid. In the end, though, the new federalism was mostly about new federal cutbacks, leaving states with the responsibility for picking up (or not) the former federal programs.

Politically, the 1980s was an era of divided government. Just as Republican President Reagan shared power with a Democratic Congress, at least half the states' governors faced a legislature controlled, at least partially, by the other party. Perhaps because of this divided control, the decade was a period of moderation in public policymaking.

Beyond Watergate

By the early 1980s, Republicans had overcome their landslide losses in the post-Watergate elections of 1974 and 1976, while the Democratic Party's hold on the South was loosening. By the end of the decade, Republicans had increased their influence across the South and held 26 percent of the seats, compared to just 17 percent in...