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Doubt tests the old;
The first thing to do is to ask.

When Ronald Reagan came into office there was another call to corporations to take on the problems of society which, coupled with serious government cut-backs, made up what was called "Reaganomics." In 1980, the corporations seemed to be digging deeper into their pockets to support the philosophy of this president who had their interests at heart. However, the trade-deficit, oil-glut, and the loosening of anti-trust legislation enforcement brought on a surge in hostile takeovers that were usually masterminded by individuals who believe in corporate austerity in the interest of the stockholders. The company that is taken over is then trimmed down eliminating superfluities (such as funding non-profits) letting go hundreds of employees and selling off divisions to pay off the debts incurred in the takeover.1 Even the threat of a takeover causes corporations to take on austerity programs to get their stocks up and, therefore, making them harder to take over. ARCO's 1985 restructuring caused their support of non-profits to drop from $36,796,177 in 1983 to $11,200,000 in 1987.2 Now, with everyone cutting back including the government, money has become very scarce particularly for small or emerging arts groups

1 Buono, Anthony F. and James L. Bowditch; The Human Side of Mergers and Acquisitions; 1989..
2 To Make a Difference: ARCO and Society; ARCO; 1987.

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