In 1981, Ronald Reagan cut taxes by around $275 billion. But when the realization of staggering deficits began to set in, Reagan did the fiscally responsible thing. He raised taxes 11 times -- enough to effectively roll back half of the previous tax cuts. Bruce Bartlett lists the tax hikes in billions of dollars:
Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982 +57.3
Highway Revenue Act of 1982 +4.9
Social Security Amendments of 1983 +24.6
Railroad Retirement Revenue Act of 1983 +1.2
Deficit Reduction Act of 1984 +25.4
Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 +2.9
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 +2.4
Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 +0.6
Continuing Resolution for 1987 +2.8
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 +8.6
Continuing Resolution for 1988 +2.0
Total cumulative tax increases +132.7
Teabaggers would have hectored him out of Washington.