Johnson led America through a time of many social movements, and the power of the civil rights movement only increased the importance of passing the Civil Rights Act on as soon as possible. Now that minority inequality and injustice had been brought to attention, Johnson had the power and motivation to enact the Great Society reforms that Democrats had been working on since President Roosevelt and his programs of the New Deal. Reagan, however, was president in a time of greed. Reagan took office during a difficult time for the economy, and middle- and upper-class Americans were most upset that their taxes were being spent on poor Americans through welfare programs. There was also concern about people taking advantage of these programs. Reagan reflected these views and used his views on business deregulation and tax cuts to benefit his supporters in the wealthy section of Americans. With the passage of numerous laws benefiting minorities in America, social movements had disappeared from public view as the American unrest had calmed down and Reagan did not need strong support for civil rights. When the economy eventually recovered thanks to Reagan's economic policies, the success of wealthy businessmen brought even more greed as the small portion of upper-class Americans proved to enjoy luxuries and reap the benefits of less social conditions social.