Answer:
The state of the American economy was the crisis President Reagan was referring to.
Explanation:
The quote in question was at the inaugural ceremony of Ronald Reagan as he was sworn into office as President of the United States in 1981.
By crises, President Reagan was referring to the terrible state of the American economy at the time. The economy was in a state of recession; there was high unemployment rates as well as extremely high tax rates.
President Reagan believed that the government was the major cause of the state of the economy because the previous government under Jimmy Carter was running an elitist regime with very high tax rates. The economy was also heavily indebted as a result of the credit system in place which resulted in budget deficits year over year.
On assumption of power, Reagan ran a conservative government that believed in living within your means and not on credit. He also embarked upon massive tax cuts across different sectors of the economy.
