Editing Generation X (section)

=====Conservative and neoliberal turn=====
Some older Gen Xers started high school in the waning years of the [[Jimmy Carter|Carter]] presidency, but much of the cohort became socially and politically conscious during the [[Reagan Era]]. President [[Ronald Reagan]], voted in office principally by the Boomer generation,<ref>{{Cite book|last=Gitlin|first=Martin|title=The Baby Boomer Encyclopedia|url=https://archive.org/details/babyboomerencycl00gitl|url-access=limited|publisher=Greenwood|year=2011|isbn=978-0-313-38218-5|pages=[https://archive.org/details/babyboomerencycl00gitl/page/n184 160]}}</ref> embraced [[Laissez-faire|''laissez-faire'' economics]] with vigor. His policies included cuts in the growth of government spending, reduction in taxes for the higher echelon of society, legalization of [[Share repurchase|stock buybacks]], and deregulation of key industries.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thebalance.com/reaganomics-did-it-work-would-it-today-3305569#citation-2|title=Reaganomics|last=Amadeo|first=Kimberly|date=31 January 2020|website=The Balance|access-date=13 March 2020|archive-date=25 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210525164514/https://www.thebalance.com/reaganomics-did-it-work-would-it-today-3305569#citation-2|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[early 1980s recession]] saw unemployment rise to 10.8% in 1982; requiring, more often than not, dual parental incomes.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pewresearch.org/ft_dual-income-households-1960-2012-2/|title=The Rise in Dual Income Households|date=18 June 2015|website=Pew Research Center|access-date=13 March 2020|archive-date=4 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200404030454/https://www.pewresearch.org/ft_dual-income-households-1960-2012-2/|url-status=live}}</ref> One in five American children grew up in poverty during this time. The federal debt almost tripled during Reagan's time in office, from $998&nbsp;billion in 1981 to $2.857&nbsp;trillion in 1989, placing greater burden of repayment on the incoming generation.<ref>{{Cite book|last=di Lorenzo|first=Stefano|title=Reaganomics: The Roots of Neoliberalism|publisher=Independently Published|year=2017|isbn=978-1-9731-6329-9}}</ref>

[[File:UnderstandingAIDS.png|thumb|left|upright=0.9|U.S. Department of Health booklet published in 1988]]
Government expenditure shifted from domestic programs to defense. Remaining funding initiatives, moreover, tended to be diverted away from programs for children and often directed toward the elderly population, with cuts to [[Medicaid]] and programs for children and young families, and protection and expansion of [[Medicare (United States)|Medicare]] and [[Social Security (United States)|Social Security]] for the elderly population. These programs for the elderly were not tied to economic need. Congressman [[David Durenberger]] criticized this political situation, stating that while programs for poor children and for young families were cut, the government provided "free health care to elderly millionaires".<ref name="Strauss"/><ref>{{cite book|last1=Holtz|first1=Geoffrey|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2Ay28CTKlgsC|title=Welcome to the Jungle: The Why Behind Generation X|publisher=St. Martin's Griffin|year=1995|isbn=978-0-312-13210-1|pages=49–50|access-date=19 June 2016|archive-date=3 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230203080702/https://books.google.com/books?id=2Ay28CTKlgsC|url-status=live}}</ref>