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Arthur Laffer

Arthur Betz Laffer (/ˈlæfər/;[1] born August 14, 1940) is an American economist and author who first gained prominence during the Reagan administration as a member of Reagan's Economic Policy Advisory Board (1981–1989). Laffer is best known for the Laffer curve, an illustration of the theory that there exists some tax rate between 0% and 100% that will result in maximum tax revenue for government. In certain circumstances, this would allow governments to cut taxes, and simultaneously increase revenue and economic growth.

Art Laffer
Laffer at the White House in 2019
Born
Arthur Betz Laffer

(1940-08-14) August 14, 1940 (age 82)
FieldPolitical economics
School or
tradition
Supply-side economics
Alma materYale University (BA)
Stanford University (MBA, PhD)
Doctoral
advisor
Ronald McKinnon
ContributionsLaffer curve
AwardsPresidential Medal of Freedom (2019)

Laffer was an economic advisor to Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.[2] On June 19, 2019, President Trump awarded Laffer with the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his contributions in the field of economics.[3]

Early life and education

Laffer was born in Youngstown, Ohio, the son of Marian Amelia "Molly" (née Betz), a homemaker and politician, and William Gillespie Laffer, president of the Clevite Corporation. He was raised in the Cleveland, Ohio area.[4][5][6] He is a Presbyterian,[7] and graduated from Cleveland's University School high school in 1958.[8] Laffer earned a B.A. in economics from Yale University (1963) and an M.B.A. (1965) and a Ph.D. in economics (1972) from Stanford University.[9]

Academia

Laffer was an Associate Professor of Business Economics at the University of Chicago from 1970 to 1976 and a member of the Chicago faculty from 1967 through 1976.[10] From 1976 to 1984 Laffer held the status as the Charles B. Thornton Professor of Business Economics at the University of Southern California School of Business.[11] During this time Laffer helped pass Proposition 13, the California initiative that drastically cut property taxes in the state in 1978.[12] In the mid-1980s, Laffer was the Distinguished University Professor at Pepperdine University in Malibu, and a member of the Pepperdine Board of Directors.[13]

Politics

Laffer was the first to hold the title of Chief Economist at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under George Shultz from October 1970 to July 1972.[13] During the years 1972 to 1977, Laffer was a consultant to Secretary of the Treasury William Simon, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Secretary of the Treasury George Shultz.[14]

Laffer was a member of President Reagan's Economic Policy Advisory Board for both of his terms (1981–1989) and was a founding member of the Reagan Executive Advisory Committee for the presidential race of 1980.[15] Laffer served as a member of the Executive Committee of the Reagan/Bush Finance Committee in 1984.[13]

In 1986, Laffer was a candidate for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate—which he lost in the California primary to U.S. Congressman Ed Zschau, who lost in the general election to the incumbent, Democrat Alan Cranston.[16] Laffer identifies himself as a staunch fiscal conservative. However, he has stated publicly that he voted for President Bill Clinton in 1992 and 1996.[17] Laffer references President Clinton's conservative fiscal and unregulated market policies as cornerstones of his support.[18]

In 2018, Laffer wrote the book Trumponomics with conservative economic commentator Stephen Moore, wherein they lauded the Trump administration's economic policies.[19] In the book, Moore and Laffer argue that the Trump administration's 2017 tax plan would raise growth rates to as much as 6% and not increase budget deficits.[19] In a 2019 review of the book, Greg Mankiw, a conservative economics professor at Harvard University, characterized Laffer and Moore as "rah-rah partisans" who "do not build their analysis on the foundation of professional consensus or serious studies from peer-reviewed journals...The Laffer curve is undeniable as a matter of economic theory. There is certainly some level of taxation at which cutting tax rates would be win-win. But few economists believe that tax rates in the United States have reached such heights in recent years; to the contrary, they are likely below the revenue-maximizing level."[19][20] The one issue where Moore and Laffer disagree with Trump is on the issue of free trade, which the duo supports.[19] Previously, in 2016, Laffer said that he believed that then-candidate Trump was "going to be okay on trade" and lauded Trump's understanding of trade.[21][22]

Laffer regularly writes opinion articles in The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Times.[23][24]

On April 15, 2019, Laffer blamed the Great Recession on Barack Obama, "who I believe was the reason why we had the Great Recession. As he got closer and closer to winning the markets collapsed."[25]

In 2020, Laffer advised the Trump administration on how to re-open the economy during the COVID-19 pandemic.[26][27][28] Laffer argued for halting stimulus, calling instead for payroll tax cuts.[29][30] He advocated for taxes on non-profit organizations in education and the arts, as well as for salary reductions for professors and government officials.[30] He argued against expansion of unemployment aid, arguing it discouraged people from working.[30]

Presidential Medal of Freedom

 
Laffer receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Trump in 2019

In 2019, President Trump awarded Laffer the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor.[3] The Trump White House said Laffer was receiving the award for "public service and contributions to economic policy that have helped spur prosperity for our Nation" and that Laffer was "one of the most influential economists in American history" due to popularizing the "Laffer Curve."[3] Trump praised Laffer for policies that he said brought "greater opportunity for all Americans."[31]

Laffer curve

Although he does not claim to have invented the Laffer curve concept (Laffer, 2004), it was popularized with policy-makers following an afternoon meeting with Nixon/Ford Administration officials Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld in 1974 in which he reportedly sketched the curve on a napkin to illustrate his argument.[32] The term "Laffer curve" was coined by Jude Wanniski, who was also present. The basic concept was not new; Laffer himself says he learned it from Ibn Khaldun and John Maynard Keynes.[33]

The Laffer curve is an economic theory that shows the relationship between tax rates and the amount of tax revenue collected by governments. The Laffer Curve shows that there is a certain point between 0% and 100% where tax revenues are maximized. The curve suggests that starting from zero, an increase in tax rates will increase the government's tax revenue; after a certain point, however, continuing to increase tax rates will cause a decrease in tax revenue.[16] This decrease in tax revenue can be explained by decreased incentives for work, production, etc.[34] Laffer's postulate was that the tax rate that maximizes revenue was at a much lower level than previously believed: so low that current tax rates were above the level where revenue is maximized. While many economists believe that government spending to stimulate demand for products should be the solution for a poorly performing economy, Laffer argues that heavy taxes and regulation impede production, and therefore, government revenue.[34]

Numerous leading economists have rejected the view that a tax rate cut of current federal U.S. income taxes can lead to increased tax revenue. When asked in a 2012 University of Chicago business school survey whether a "cut in federal income tax rates in the US right now would raise taxable income enough so that the annual total tax revenue would be higher within five years than without the tax cut", none of the economists surveyed agreed and 71% disagreed.[35] According to Greg Mankiw, most economists have been very skeptical of Laffer's contention that decreases in tax rates could increase tax revenue, at least in the United States. In his textbook, Mankiw states, "there was little evidence for Laffer's view that U.S. tax rates had in fact reached such extreme levels."[36] Under the direction of conservative economist Douglas Holtz-Eakin, the Congressional Budget Office conducted a 2005 study on the fiscal effects of a 10% cut in federal income tax rates, finding that it resulted in a significant net revenue loss.[37][38] Economist John Quiggin distinguishes between the Laffer curve and Laffer's analysis of tax rates, writing that the Laffer curve was "correct but unoriginal" and that Laffer's analysis that the United States was on the wrong side of the Laffer curve "was original but incorrect."[39]

Laffer was an economic adviser to Kansas Governor Sam Brownback, who in 2012 zeroed out state tax liability for approximately 330,000 of the top wage earners in the state, called the Kansas experiment, contending it would be a "shot of adrenaline into the heart of the Kansas economy."[40][41] Laffer was paid $75,000 to advise in the creation of Brownback's tax cut plan, and gave Brownback his full endorsement, stating that what Brownback was doing was "truly revolutionary"[42] and would bring "enormous prosperity" to Kansas.[41] The state, which had previously had a budget surplus, experienced a budget deficit of about $200 million in 2012. Drastic cuts to state funding for education and infrastructure were implemented to close budget deficits and the Kansas economy underperformed relative to neighboring states.[43] Brownback's tax overhaul was described in a June 2017 article in The Atlantic as the United States' "most aggressive experiment in conservative economic policy".[44] The drastic tax cuts had "threatened the viability of schools and infrastructure" in Kansas. A supermajority of lawmakers in the Kansas legislature, both Democrats and Republicans, repealed the tax cut in June 2017, overriding Brownback's veto.[44]

Awards and recognition

Awards that Laffer has received for his economic work:

  • 2 Graham and Dodd Awards from the Financial Analyst Federation for outstanding feature articles published in the Financial Analysts Journal[11]
  • The Distinguished Service Award by the National Association of Investment Clubs[11]
  • The Daniel Webster Award for public speaking by the International Platform Association[11]
  • Distinguished University Professor of Economics from Mercer University in 2008[45]
  • His book The End of Prosperity: How Higher Taxes Will Doom the Economy-If We Let it Happen was nominated for the F.A. Hayek Book Award in 2009[46]
  • The Hayek Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016[47]
  • In December 2017, Laffer became the first recipient of the American Legislative Exchange Council's Laffer Award for Economic Excellence[48]
  • Laffer was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Donald Trump on June 19, 2019.[49]

Laffer has been widely acknowledged for his economic influence, including:

  • Listed in "A Gallery of the Greatest People Who Influenced Our Daily Business," in The Wall Street Journal on June 23, 1989[11]
  • Included in "A Dozen Who Shaped the '80s," in the Los Angeles Times on January 1, 1990[11]
  • His creation of the Laffer Curve was deemed a "memorable event" in financial history by the Institutional Investor in its July 1992 Silver Anniversary issue, "The Heroes, Villains, Triumphs, Failures, and Other Memorable Events."[11]
  • Noted in Time magazine's March 29, 1999 cover story, "A Century of Science" for "his supply-side economic theories, which hold that reducing federal taxes spurs economic growth and, eventually, increases federal revenues" [50]
  • Bloomberg Businessweek selected the Laffer Curve as one of the "85 Most Disruptive Ideas In Our History" for its 85th anniversary issue in 2014.[51] Bloomberg produced a video with Laffer, Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld about the Laffer Curve and the "dinner napkin that changed the economy"[52]

Publications

The following is a partial list of publications written primarily by Laffer, with co-authors indicated, in order by date:

  • “International Short-Term Capital Movements: Comments,” The American Economic Review 57 (3), pp. 548–565 (1967)
  • “The Economics of Cycles and Growth,” written by Stanley Bober, reviewed by Arthur Laffer, The American Economic Review 58 (4), pp. 1006–1007 (1968)
  • "The U.S. Balance of Payments – A Financial Center View," Law and Contemporary Problems 34 (1), pp. 33–46 (1969).
  • "Vertical Integration by Corporations, 1929–1965," Review of Economics and Statistics 51 (1), pp. 91–93 (1969).
  • "Trade Credit and the Money Market," J. Political Economy 78 (2), 239–267 (1970).
  • "Information and Capital Markets", (with Eugene Fama). J. Business 44 (3), pp. 289–298 (1971).
  • "A Formal Model of the Economy," (with R. David Ranson). J. Business 44 (3), pp. 247–270 (1971).
  • "The Number of Firms and Competition", (with Eugene F. Fama). American Economic Review 62 (4), pp. 670–674 (1972).
  • "Monetary Policy and the Balance of Payments," J. Money, Credit, and Banking Part I 4 (1), 13–22 (1972).
  • "Some Evidence on the Formation, Efficiency and Accuracy of Anticipations of Nominal Yields," (with Richard Zecher). J. Monetary Economics 1 (3), pp. 327–342 (1975).
  • The Phenomenon of Worldwide Inflation, co-edited with David Meiselman, American Enterprise Institute, Washington, D.C., 1975.
  • The Economics of the Tax Revolt: A Reader, co-authored with Jan P. Seymour, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., San Diego, 1976.
  • De Fiscus Onder Het Mes, Uitgeverij Acropolis, Brussel/Amstelveen, 1981.
  • L’Ellipse ou la Loi des Rendements Fiscaux Decroissants, Institutum Europaeum, Brussels, 1981
  • Future American Energy Policy, co-authored with Meredith S. Crist, Lexington Books, Lexington, Massachusetts, 1982.
  • "Reinstatement of the Dollar: The Blueprint," Economic Notes 0 (2), pp. 158–176 (1982).
  • Victor A. Canto, Douglas H. Joines, and Arthur B. Laffer, Foundations of Supply-Side Economics – Theory and Evidence (New York: Academic Press, 1982).
  • "A High Road for the American Automobile Industry," World Economy 8 (3), pp. 267–286 (1985).
  • "The Ellipse: An Explication of the Laffer Curve in a Two-Factor Model," The Financial Analyst's Guide to Fiscal Policy, pp. 1–35 (New York: Greenwood Press, 1986).
  • "Heightened foreign competition only route for American prosperity," The Journal Record (June 9, 1987).
  • "America in the World Economy: A Strategy for the 1990s: Commentary," America's Global Interests: A New Agenda, pp. 122–125 (London: Norton, 1989).
  • Monetary Policy, Taxation, and International Investment Strategy, co-edited with Victor A. Canto, Quorum Books, Connecticut. 1990.
  • "Either California's Housing Prices Are Going to Fall or California's in for One Helluva Rise in Personal Income," (with Christopher S. Hammond). Investment Strategy and State and Local Economic Policy, pp. 49–64 (London: Quorum Books, 1992).
  • Investment Strategy and State and Local Economic Policy, co-authored with Victor A. Canto and Robert I. Webb, Quorum Books, Connecticut. 1992.
  • "Trading Policy Outlook," Industrial Policy and International Trade, pp. 175–186, Volume 62 in Contemporary Studies in Economic and Financial Analysis (London: JAI Press, 1992).
  • "The Reagan-Clinton Presidency," International Economy 12 (2), 22–24 (1998).
  • "Bullish on Japan," (with Thomas J. Martin). American Spectator pp. 28–30 (June 1, 2001).
  • "The Laffer Curve: Past, Present, and Future," Heritage Foundation Backgrounder #1765 (June 1, 2004).
  • Rich States, Poor States: ALEC-Laffer State Economic Competitiveness Index, co-authored with Stephen Moore and Jonathan Williams, American Legislative Exchange Council, 1st Edition 2008, 2nd Edition 2009, 3rd Edition 2010, 4th Edition 2011, 5th Edition 2012, 6th Edition 2013, 7th Edition 2014, 8th Edition 2015, 9th Edition 2016, 10th Edition 2017.
  • , Independence Institute (August 2009)
  • (with Stephen Moore and Peter Tanous) (September 8, 2009). The End of Prosperity: How Higher Taxes Will Doom the Economy--If We Let It Happen. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4165-9239-6.
  • The Private Equity Edge: How Private Equity Players and the World’s Top Companies Build Value and Wealth, co-authored with William J. Hass and Shepherd G. Pryor IV, McGraw-Hill, New York, 2009.
  • Return to Prosperity: How America Can Regain its Economic Superpower Status, co-authored with Stephen Moore, Threshold Editions, New York, 2010.
  • Eureka!: How to Fix California, with Wayne Winegarden, Ph.D. Pacific Research Institute, San Francisco, 2012
  • An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of States, co-authored with Stephen Moore, Rex A. Sinquefield, and Travis Brown, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New Jersey, 2014.
  • The Pillars of Reaganomics: A Generation of Wisdom from Arthur Laffer and the Supply-Side Revolutionaries, edited by Brian Domitrovic, The Laffer Center at the Pacific Research Institute, San Francisco, 2014.
  • Handbook of Tobacco Taxation, The Laffer Center at the Pacific Research Institute, San Francisco, 2014.
  • Wealth of States: More Ways to Enhance Freedom, Opportunity and Growth, co-authored with Stephen Moore, Rex A. Sinquefield, and Travis Brown, 2017.
  • Trumponomics: Inside the America First Plan to Revive Our Economy. (with Stephen Moore). All Points Books, October 2018, ISBN 9781250193711

Laffer has written two children's books with Michelle A. Balconi: "Let’s Chat About Economics" (2014) and "Let’s Chat About Democracy" (2017).[53]

See also

References

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  4. ^ Armstrong, Alice Catt (1994). Who's who in California – Alice Catt Armstrong – Google Books. from the original on January 19, 2023. Retrieved December 13, 2012.
  5. ^ "Betz, Marian Amelia (Molly)". Laufferproductions.com. from the original on April 2, 2012. Retrieved December 13, 2012.
  6. ^ "Arthur Laffer Fiance Of Traci Hickman". The New York Times. September 5, 1982. from the original on August 21, 2017. Retrieved February 5, 2017.
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  8. ^ "It's the Economy". University School Alumni Journal: Back Cover. May 2018.
  9. ^ Koba, Mark (September 22, 2011). "The Laffer Curve: CNBC Explains". www.cnbc.com. from the original on January 29, 2019. Retrieved January 28, 2019.
  10. ^ Tankersley, Jim (April 9, 2015). "Arthur Laffer has a never-ending supply of supply-side plans for GOP". from the original on February 13, 2019. Retrieved January 28, 2019.
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  13. ^ a b c . Evidence Care. Archived from the original on July 29, 2021. Retrieved January 28, 2019.
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  17. ^ "Up, Up and Away: The Art Laffer Interview « Yale62.org". Yale1962.org. from the original on November 20, 2016. Retrieved December 13, 2012.
  18. ^ Arthur B. Laffer and Stephen Moore,Return to Prosperity, Threshold Editions, p. 26, Feb 2010
  19. ^ a b c d "Snake-Oil Economics". Foreign Affairs: America and the World. No. January/February 2019. January 29, 2019. ISSN 0015-7120. from the original on December 22, 2022. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
  20. ^ https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/mankiw/files/snake-oil_economics.pdf July 10, 2021, at the Wayback Machine[bare URL PDF]
  21. ^ Jagoda, Naomi (June 21, 2016). "Economist Laffer defends Trump on trade". TheHill. from the original on April 17, 2019. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
  22. ^ "Trump to award Medal of Freedom to tax-cut guru Arthur Laffer". www.cbsnews.com. from the original on June 9, 2019. Retrieved May 31, 2019.
  23. ^ Laffer, Arthur (October 19, 2011). "Cain's Stimulating '9-9-9' Tax Reform". The Wall Street Journal. from the original on April 4, 2020. Retrieved November 14, 2011.
  24. ^ "STEPHEN MOORE: What the economy needs now". The Washington Times. from the original on February 1, 2016. Retrieved June 6, 2016.
  25. ^ "Fox "straight news" guest says Bernie Sanders being elected president would cause a total market collapse". Media Matters for America. April 15, 2019. from the original on July 31, 2019. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
  26. ^ "Conservative groups advising White House push fast reopening, not testing". Reuters. May 2, 2020. from the original on December 22, 2022. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  27. ^ "34 days of pandemic: Inside Trump's desperate attempts to reopen America". The Washington Post. 2020. from the original on August 30, 2021.
  28. ^ "Reopening the economy vs. keeping it shut longer. What's more costly?". Los Angeles Times. April 23, 2020. from the original on December 22, 2022. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  29. ^ Reuters (May 1, 2020). "Conservative Groups Advising White House Push Fast Reopening, Not Testing". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 14, 2020. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  30. ^ a b c Zeballos-Roig, Joseph. "A former Reagan economist wants to slash the salaries of professors and public officials — while simultaneously proposing tax cuts to stimulate the coronavirus-stricken economy". Business Insider. from the original on December 22, 2022. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  31. ^ Tankersley, Jim (June 19, 2019). "Trump Awards Presidential Medal of Freedom to Arthur Laffer, Tax-Cut Guru". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. from the original on June 20, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  32. ^ . Polyconomics.com. Archived from the original on May 3, 2011. Retrieved December 13, 2012.
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  34. ^ a b Kenton, Will. "Laffer Curve". Investopedia. from the original on January 29, 2019. Retrieved January 28, 2019.
  35. ^ Popp Berman, Elizabeth (June 1, 2019). "Trump is giving Arthur Laffer the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Economists aren't smiling". The Washington Post. from the original on February 6, 2021. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
  36. ^ Mankiw, Greg (2014). Principles of Economics. Cengage. pp. 164–165.
  37. ^ Leonhardt, David (April 23, 2008). "Weighing a McCain Economist". New York Times. from the original on December 22, 2022. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
  38. ^ Analyzing the Economic and Budgetary Effects of a 10 Percent Cut in Income Tax Rates, Congressional Budget Office, December 1, 2005:https://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/109th-congress-2005-2006/reports/12-01-10percenttaxcut.pdf November 5, 2022, at the Wayback Machine
  39. ^ Quiggin, John (May 21, 2012). Zombie Economics. Princeton University Press. p. 142. doi:10.2307/j.ctt7rg7m. ISBN 978-1-4008-4208-7.
  40. ^ Topeka Capital Journal, 2013
  41. ^ a b Willaim G. Gale (November 29, 2017). "What Congressional Tax Cutters Can Learn From Kansas". Tax Policy Center. from the original on December 24, 2022. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
  42. ^ Alvord, Daniel R. (March 1, 2020). "What Matters to Kansas: Small Business and the Defeat of the Kansas Tax Experiment". Politics & Society. 48 (1): 27–66. doi:10.1177/0032329219894788. ISSN 0032-3292.
  43. ^ Kansas City Star, 2015
  44. ^ a b Berman, Russell (June 7, 2017). "The Death of Kansas's Conservative Experiment". The Atlantic. from the original on June 12, 2017. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  45. ^ "Arthur Laffer and Horace Fleming Appointed Distinguished University Professors". Mercer News. May 20, 2008. from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved January 28, 2019.
  46. ^ "LAFFER, Arthur B." TaxCOOP. Retrieved January 28, 2019.[permanent dead link]
  47. ^ Fernández, Federico N. (December 6, 2016). "Arthur Laffer: 2016 Hayek Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient". Medium. from the original on January 29, 2019. Retrieved January 28, 2019.
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  53. ^ "Let's Chat Books". from the original on December 22, 2022. Retrieved November 22, 2017.

External links

arthur, laffer, arthur, betz, laffer, born, august, 1940, american, economist, author, first, gained, prominence, during, reagan, administration, member, reagan, economic, policy, advisory, board, 1981, 1989, laffer, best, known, laffer, curve, illustration, t. Arthur Betz Laffer ˈ l ae f er 1 born August 14 1940 is an American economist and author who first gained prominence during the Reagan administration as a member of Reagan s Economic Policy Advisory Board 1981 1989 Laffer is best known for the Laffer curve an illustration of the theory that there exists some tax rate between 0 and 100 that will result in maximum tax revenue for government In certain circumstances this would allow governments to cut taxes and simultaneously increase revenue and economic growth Art LafferLaffer at the White House in 2019BornArthur Betz Laffer 1940 08 14 August 14 1940 age 82 Youngstown Ohio U S FieldPolitical economicsSchool ortraditionSupply side economicsAlma materYale University BA Stanford University MBA PhD DoctoraladvisorRonald McKinnonContributionsLaffer curveAwardsPresidential Medal of Freedom 2019 Laffer was an economic advisor to Donald Trump s 2016 presidential campaign 2 On June 19 2019 President Trump awarded Laffer with the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his contributions in the field of economics 3 Contents 1 Early life and education 2 Academia 3 Politics 3 1 Presidential Medal of Freedom 4 Laffer curve 5 Awards and recognition 6 Publications 7 See also 8 References 9 External linksEarly life and education EditLaffer was born in Youngstown Ohio the son of Marian Amelia Molly nee Betz a homemaker and politician and William Gillespie Laffer president of the Clevite Corporation He was raised in the Cleveland Ohio area 4 5 6 He is a Presbyterian 7 and graduated from Cleveland s University School high school in 1958 8 Laffer earned a B A in economics from Yale University 1963 and an M B A 1965 and a Ph D in economics 1972 from Stanford University 9 Academia EditLaffer was an Associate Professor of Business Economics at the University of Chicago from 1970 to 1976 and a member of the Chicago faculty from 1967 through 1976 10 From 1976 to 1984 Laffer held the status as the Charles B Thornton Professor of Business Economics at the University of Southern California School of Business 11 During this time Laffer helped pass Proposition 13 the California initiative that drastically cut property taxes in the state in 1978 12 In the mid 1980s Laffer was the Distinguished University Professor at Pepperdine University in Malibu and a member of the Pepperdine Board of Directors 13 Politics EditLaffer was the first to hold the title of Chief Economist at the Office of Management and Budget OMB under George Shultz from October 1970 to July 1972 13 During the years 1972 to 1977 Laffer was a consultant to Secretary of the Treasury William Simon Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Secretary of the Treasury George Shultz 14 Laffer was a member of President Reagan s Economic Policy Advisory Board for both of his terms 1981 1989 and was a founding member of the Reagan Executive Advisory Committee for the presidential race of 1980 15 Laffer served as a member of the Executive Committee of the Reagan Bush Finance Committee in 1984 13 In 1986 Laffer was a candidate for the Republican nomination for the U S Senate which he lost in the California primary to U S Congressman Ed Zschau who lost in the general election to the incumbent Democrat Alan Cranston 16 Laffer identifies himself as a staunch fiscal conservative However he has stated publicly that he voted for President Bill Clinton in 1992 and 1996 17 Laffer references President Clinton s conservative fiscal and unregulated market policies as cornerstones of his support 18 In 2018 Laffer wrote the book Trumponomics with conservative economic commentator Stephen Moore wherein they lauded the Trump administration s economic policies 19 In the book Moore and Laffer argue that the Trump administration s 2017 tax plan would raise growth rates to as much as 6 and not increase budget deficits 19 In a 2019 review of the book Greg Mankiw a conservative economics professor at Harvard University characterized Laffer and Moore as rah rah partisans who do not build their analysis on the foundation of professional consensus or serious studies from peer reviewed journals The Laffer curve is undeniable as a matter of economic theory There is certainly some level of taxation at which cutting tax rates would be win win But few economists believe that tax rates in the United States have reached such heights in recent years to the contrary they are likely below the revenue maximizing level 19 20 The one issue where Moore and Laffer disagree with Trump is on the issue of free trade which the duo supports 19 Previously in 2016 Laffer said that he believed that then candidate Trump was going to be okay on trade and lauded Trump s understanding of trade 21 22 Laffer regularly writes opinion articles in The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Times 23 24 On April 15 2019 Laffer blamed the Great Recession on Barack Obama who I believe was the reason why we had the Great Recession As he got closer and closer to winning the markets collapsed 25 In 2020 Laffer advised the Trump administration on how to re open the economy during the COVID 19 pandemic 26 27 28 Laffer argued for halting stimulus calling instead for payroll tax cuts 29 30 He advocated for taxes on non profit organizations in education and the arts as well as for salary reductions for professors and government officials 30 He argued against expansion of unemployment aid arguing it discouraged people from working 30 Presidential Medal of Freedom Edit Laffer receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Trump in 2019 In 2019 President Trump awarded Laffer the Presidential Medal of Freedom the nation s highest civilian honor 3 The Trump White House said Laffer was receiving the award for public service and contributions to economic policy that have helped spur prosperity for our Nation and that Laffer was one of the most influential economists in American history due to popularizing the Laffer Curve 3 Trump praised Laffer for policies that he said brought greater opportunity for all Americans 31 Laffer curve EditMain article Laffer curve Although he does not claim to have invented the Laffer curve concept Laffer 2004 it was popularized with policy makers following an afternoon meeting with Nixon Ford Administration officials Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld in 1974 in which he reportedly sketched the curve on a napkin to illustrate his argument 32 The term Laffer curve was coined by Jude Wanniski who was also present The basic concept was not new Laffer himself says he learned it from Ibn Khaldun and John Maynard Keynes 33 The Laffer curve is an economic theory that shows the relationship between tax rates and the amount of tax revenue collected by governments The Laffer Curve shows that there is a certain point between 0 and 100 where tax revenues are maximized The curve suggests that starting from zero an increase in tax rates will increase the government s tax revenue after a certain point however continuing to increase tax rates will cause a decrease in tax revenue 16 This decrease in tax revenue can be explained by decreased incentives for work production etc 34 Laffer s postulate was that the tax rate that maximizes revenue was at a much lower level than previously believed so low that current tax rates were above the level where revenue is maximized While many economists believe that government spending to stimulate demand for products should be the solution for a poorly performing economy Laffer argues that heavy taxes and regulation impede production and therefore government revenue 34 Numerous leading economists have rejected the view that a tax rate cut of current federal U S income taxes can lead to increased tax revenue When asked in a 2012 University of Chicago business school survey whether a cut in federal income tax rates in the US right now would raise taxable income enough so that the annual total tax revenue would be higher within five years than without the tax cut none of the economists surveyed agreed and 71 disagreed 35 According to Greg Mankiw most economists have been very skeptical of Laffer s contention that decreases in tax rates could increase tax revenue at least in the United States In his textbook Mankiw states there was little evidence for Laffer s view that U S tax rates had in fact reached such extreme levels 36 Under the direction of conservative economist Douglas Holtz Eakin the Congressional Budget Office conducted a 2005 study on the fiscal effects of a 10 cut in federal income tax rates finding that it resulted in a significant net revenue loss 37 38 Economist John Quiggin distinguishes between the Laffer curve and Laffer s analysis of tax rates writing that the Laffer curve was correct but unoriginal and that Laffer s analysis that the United States was on the wrong side of the Laffer curve was original but incorrect 39 Laffer was an economic adviser to Kansas Governor Sam Brownback who in 2012 zeroed out state tax liability for approximately 330 000 of the top wage earners in the state called the Kansas experiment contending it would be a shot of adrenaline into the heart of the Kansas economy 40 41 Laffer was paid 75 000 to advise in the creation of Brownback s tax cut plan and gave Brownback his full endorsement stating that what Brownback was doing was truly revolutionary 42 and would bring enormous prosperity to Kansas 41 The state which had previously had a budget surplus experienced a budget deficit of about 200 million in 2012 Drastic cuts to state funding for education and infrastructure were implemented to close budget deficits and the Kansas economy underperformed relative to neighboring states 43 Brownback s tax overhaul was described in a June 2017 article in The Atlantic as the United States most aggressive experiment in conservative economic policy 44 The drastic tax cuts had threatened the viability of schools and infrastructure in Kansas A supermajority of lawmakers in the Kansas legislature both Democrats and Republicans repealed the tax cut in June 2017 overriding Brownback s veto 44 Awards and recognition EditAwards that Laffer has received for his economic work 2 Graham and Dodd Awards from the Financial Analyst Federation for outstanding feature articles published in the Financial Analysts Journal 11 The Distinguished Service Award by the National Association of Investment Clubs 11 The Daniel Webster Award for public speaking by the International Platform Association 11 Distinguished University Professor of Economics from Mercer University in 2008 45 His book The End of Prosperity How Higher Taxes Will Doom the Economy If We Let it Happen was nominated for the F A Hayek Book Award in 2009 46 The Hayek Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016 47 In December 2017 Laffer became the first recipient of the American Legislative Exchange Council s Laffer Award for Economic Excellence 48 Laffer was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Donald Trump on June 19 2019 49 Laffer has been widely acknowledged for his economic influence including Listed in A Gallery of the Greatest People Who Influenced Our Daily Business in The Wall Street Journal on June 23 1989 11 Included in A Dozen Who Shaped the 80s in the Los Angeles Times on January 1 1990 11 His creation of the Laffer Curve was deemed a memorable event in financial history by the Institutional Investor in its July 1992 Silver Anniversary issue The Heroes Villains Triumphs Failures and Other Memorable Events 11 Noted in Time magazine s March 29 1999 cover story A Century of Science for his supply side economic theories which hold that reducing federal taxes spurs economic growth and eventually increases federal revenues 50 Bloomberg Businessweek selected the Laffer Curve as one of the 85 Most Disruptive Ideas In Our History for its 85th anniversary issue in 2014 51 Bloomberg produced a video with Laffer Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld about the Laffer Curve and the dinner napkin that changed the economy 52 Publications EditThe following is a partial list of publications written primarily by Laffer with co authors indicated in order by date International Short Term Capital Movements Comments The American Economic Review 57 3 pp 548 565 1967 The Economics of Cycles and Growth written by Stanley Bober reviewed by Arthur Laffer The American Economic Review 58 4 pp 1006 1007 1968 The U S Balance of Payments A Financial Center View Law and Contemporary Problems 34 1 pp 33 46 1969 Vertical Integration by Corporations 1929 1965 Review of Economics and Statistics 51 1 pp 91 93 1969 Trade Credit and the Money Market J Political Economy 78 2 239 267 1970 Information and Capital Markets with Eugene Fama J Business 44 3 pp 289 298 1971 A Formal Model of the Economy with R David Ranson J Business 44 3 pp 247 270 1971 The Number of Firms and Competition with Eugene F Fama American Economic Review 62 4 pp 670 674 1972 Monetary Policy and the Balance of Payments J Money Credit and Banking Part I 4 1 13 22 1972 Some Evidence on the Formation Efficiency and Accuracy of Anticipations of Nominal Yields with Richard Zecher J Monetary Economics 1 3 pp 327 342 1975 The Phenomenon of Worldwide Inflation co edited with David Meiselman American Enterprise Institute Washington D C 1975 The Economics of the Tax Revolt A Reader co authored with Jan P Seymour Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Inc San Diego 1976 De Fiscus Onder Het Mes Uitgeverij Acropolis Brussel Amstelveen 1981 L Ellipse ou la Loi des Rendements Fiscaux Decroissants Institutum Europaeum Brussels 1981 Future American Energy Policy co authored with Meredith S Crist Lexington Books Lexington Massachusetts 1982 Reinstatement of the Dollar The Blueprint Economic Notes 0 2 pp 158 176 1982 Victor A Canto Douglas H Joines and Arthur B Laffer Foundations of Supply Side Economics Theory and Evidence New York Academic Press 1982 A High Road for the American Automobile Industry World Economy 8 3 pp 267 286 1985 The Ellipse An Explication of the Laffer Curve in a Two Factor Model The Financial Analyst s Guide to Fiscal Policy pp 1 35 New York Greenwood Press 1986 Heightened foreign competition only route for American prosperity The Journal Record June 9 1987 America in the World Economy A Strategy for the 1990s Commentary America s Global Interests A New Agenda pp 122 125 London Norton 1989 Monetary Policy Taxation and International Investment Strategy co edited with Victor A Canto Quorum Books Connecticut 1990 Either California s Housing Prices Are Going to Fall or California s in for One Helluva Rise in Personal Income with Christopher S Hammond Investment Strategy and State and Local Economic Policy pp 49 64 London Quorum Books 1992 Investment Strategy and State and Local Economic Policy co authored with Victor A Canto and Robert I Webb Quorum Books Connecticut 1992 Trading Policy Outlook Industrial Policy and International Trade pp 175 186 Volume 62 in Contemporary Studies in Economic and Financial Analysis London JAI Press 1992 The Reagan Clinton Presidency International Economy 12 2 22 24 1998 Bullish on Japan with Thomas J Martin American Spectator pp 28 30 June 1 2001 The Laffer Curve Past Present and Future Heritage Foundation Backgrounder 1765 June 1 2004 Rich States Poor States ALEC Laffer State Economic Competitiveness Index co authored with Stephen Moore and Jonathan Williams American Legislative Exchange Council 1st Edition 2008 2nd Edition 2009 3rd Edition 2010 4th Edition 2011 5th Edition 2012 6th Edition 2013 7th Edition 2014 8th Edition 2015 9th Edition 2016 10th Edition 2017 The Prognosis for National Health Insurance A Colorado Perspective Independence Institute August 2009 with Stephen Moore and Peter Tanous September 8 2009 The End of Prosperity How Higher Taxes Will Doom the Economy If We Let It Happen Simon and Schuster ISBN 978 1 4165 9239 6 The Private Equity Edge How Private Equity Players and the World s Top Companies Build Value and Wealth co authored with William J Hass and Shepherd G Pryor IV McGraw Hill New York 2009 Return to Prosperity How America Can Regain its Economic Superpower Status co authored with Stephen Moore Threshold Editions New York 2010 Eureka How to Fix California with Wayne Winegarden Ph D Pacific Research Institute San Francisco 2012 An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of States co authored with Stephen Moore Rex A Sinquefield and Travis Brown John Wiley and Sons Inc New Jersey 2014 The Pillars of Reaganomics A Generation of Wisdom from Arthur Laffer and the Supply Side Revolutionaries edited by Brian Domitrovic The Laffer Center at the Pacific Research Institute San Francisco 2014 Handbook of Tobacco Taxation The Laffer Center at the Pacific Research Institute San Francisco 2014 Wealth of States More Ways to Enhance Freedom Opportunity and Growth co authored with Stephen Moore Rex A Sinquefield and Travis Brown 2017 Trumponomics Inside the America First Plan to Revive Our Economy with Stephen Moore All Points Books October 2018 ISBN 9781250193711Laffer has written two children s books with Michelle A Balconi Let s Chat About Economics 2014 and Let s Chat About Democracy 2017 53 See also EditSupply side economics Trickle down economicsReferences Edit Laffer curve Define Laffer curve at Dictionary com Dictionary reference com Archived from the original on October 25 2012 Retrieved December 13 2012 Advisors to Trump archived from the original on May 15 2017 retrieved May 15 2017 a b c President Donald J Trump to Award the Medal of Freedom The White House Archived from the original on January 20 2021 Retrieved June 20 2019 Armstrong Alice Catt 1994 Who s who in California Alice Catt Armstrong Google Books Archived from the original on January 19 2023 Retrieved December 13 2012 Betz Marian Amelia Molly Laufferproductions com Archived from the original on April 2 2012 Retrieved December 13 2012 Arthur Laffer Fiance Of Traci Hickman The New York Times September 5 1982 Archived from the original on August 21 2017 Retrieved February 5 2017 Zonana Victor F March 22 1985 Eyeing Senate Seat Economist Laffer Life in Fast Lane Los Angeles Times Archived from the original on April 27 2016 Retrieved February 18 2020 It s the Economy University School Alumni Journal Back Cover May 2018 Koba Mark September 22 2011 The Laffer Curve CNBC Explains www cnbc com Archived from the original on January 29 2019 Retrieved January 28 2019 Tankersley Jim April 9 2015 Arthur Laffer has a never ending supply of supply side plans for GOP Archived from the original on February 13 2019 Retrieved January 28 2019 a b c d e f g FBN TV Personalities Fox Business Archived from the original on December 22 2022 Retrieved January 28 2019 Arthur Laffer Is a Man with All the Reasons for a Big Tax Cut PEOPLE com Archived from the original on December 22 2022 Retrieved January 28 2019 a b c Arthur B Laffer PhD Evidence Care Archived from the original on July 29 2021 Retrieved January 28 2019 NexPoint Residential Trust Inc Appoints Arthur Laffer and James Dondero to Board of Directors www businesswire com May 12 2015 Archived from the original on May 29 2022 Retrieved January 28 2019 Arthur Laffer Speaker Pricing amp Availability from AEI Speakers Bureau AEI Speakers Bureau Archived from the original on December 22 2022 Retrieved January 28 2019 a b Arthur B Laffer American economist Encyclopedia Britannica Archived from the original on June 18 2019 Retrieved January 28 2019 Up Up and Away The Art Laffer Interview Yale62 org Yale1962 org Archived from the original on November 20 2016 Retrieved December 13 2012 Arthur B Laffer and Stephen Moore Return to Prosperity Threshold Editions p 26 Feb 2010 a b c d Snake Oil Economics Foreign Affairs America and the World No January February 2019 January 29 2019 ISSN 0015 7120 Archived from the original on December 22 2022 Retrieved March 23 2019 https scholar harvard edu files mankiw files snake oil economics pdf Archived July 10 2021 at the Wayback Machine bare URL PDF Jagoda Naomi June 21 2016 Economist Laffer defends Trump on trade TheHill Archived from the original on April 17 2019 Retrieved April 17 2019 Trump to award Medal of Freedom to tax cut guru Arthur Laffer www cbsnews com Archived from the original on June 9 2019 Retrieved May 31 2019 Laffer Arthur October 19 2011 Cain s Stimulating 9 9 9 Tax Reform The Wall Street Journal Archived from the original on April 4 2020 Retrieved November 14 2011 STEPHEN MOORE What the economy needs now The Washington Times Archived from the original on February 1 2016 Retrieved June 6 2016 Fox straight news guest says Bernie Sanders being elected president would cause a total market collapse Media Matters for America April 15 2019 Archived from the original on July 31 2019 Retrieved April 16 2019 Conservative groups advising White House push fast reopening not testing Reuters May 2 2020 Archived from the original on December 22 2022 Retrieved May 21 2020 34 days of pandemic Inside Trump s desperate attempts to reopen America The Washington Post 2020 Archived from the original on August 30 2021 Reopening the economy vs keeping it shut longer What s more costly Los Angeles Times April 23 2020 Archived from the original on December 22 2022 Retrieved May 21 2020 Reuters May 1 2020 Conservative Groups Advising White House Push Fast Reopening Not Testing The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved May 14 2020 a href Template Cite news html title Template Cite news cite news a last has generic name help a b c Zeballos Roig Joseph A former Reagan economist wants to slash the salaries of professors and public officials while simultaneously proposing tax cuts to stimulate the coronavirus stricken economy Business Insider Archived from the original on December 22 2022 Retrieved May 21 2020 Tankersley Jim June 19 2019 Trump Awards Presidential Medal of Freedom to Arthur Laffer Tax Cut Guru The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on June 20 2019 Retrieved June 20 2019 To Donald Rumsfeld Polyconomics com Archived from the original on May 3 2011 Retrieved December 13 2012 The Laffer Curve Past Present and Future Heritage org Archived from the original on July 23 2011 Retrieved December 13 2012 a b Kenton Will Laffer Curve Investopedia Archived from the original on January 29 2019 Retrieved January 28 2019 Popp Berman Elizabeth June 1 2019 Trump is giving Arthur Laffer the Presidential Medal of Freedom Economists aren t smiling The Washington Post Archived from the original on February 6 2021 Retrieved July 7 2021 Mankiw Greg 2014 Principles of Economics Cengage pp 164 165 Leonhardt David April 23 2008 Weighing a McCain Economist New York Times Archived from the original on December 22 2022 Retrieved April 18 2019 Analyzing the Economic and Budgetary Effects of a 10 Percent Cut in Income Tax Rates Congressional Budget Office December 1 2005 https www cbo gov sites default files 109th congress 2005 2006 reports 12 01 10percenttaxcut pdf Archived November 5 2022 at the Wayback Machine Quiggin John May 21 2012 Zombie Economics Princeton University Press p 142 doi 10 2307 j ctt7rg7m ISBN 978 1 4008 4208 7 Topeka Capital Journal 2013 a b Willaim G Gale November 29 2017 What Congressional Tax Cutters Can Learn From Kansas Tax Policy Center Archived from the original on December 24 2022 Retrieved April 16 2019 Alvord Daniel R March 1 2020 What Matters to Kansas Small Business and the Defeat of the Kansas Tax Experiment Politics amp Society 48 1 27 66 doi 10 1177 0032329219894788 ISSN 0032 3292 Kansas City Star 2015 a b Berman Russell June 7 2017 The Death of Kansas s Conservative Experiment The Atlantic Archived from the original on June 12 2017 Retrieved June 7 2017 Arthur Laffer and Horace Fleming Appointed Distinguished University Professors Mercer News May 20 2008 Archived from the original on March 8 2021 Retrieved January 28 2019 LAFFER Arthur B TaxCOOP Retrieved January 28 2019 permanent dead link Fernandez Federico N December 6 2016 Arthur Laffer 2016 Hayek Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient Medium Archived from the original on January 29 2019 Retrieved January 28 2019 ALEC Honors Dr Arthur Laffer for Economic Excellence www alec org Archived from the original on December 22 2022 Retrieved January 28 2019 Trump awards Presidential Medal of Freedom to economist Arthur Laffer Washington Post June 19 2019 Archived from the original on June 12 2022 Retrieved June 20 2019 Dorfman Andrea Hart Mary March 29 1999 A Century of Science Time vol 153 no 12 archived from the original on December 22 2022 retrieved May 1 2020 The 85 Most Disruptive Ideas In Our History Archived from the original on March 27 2022 Retrieved January 28 2019 Bloomberg Dick Cheney Donald Rumsfeld and Arthur Laffer on the Dinner Napkin that Changed the Economy archived from the original on December 22 2022 retrieved January 28 2019 Let s Chat Books Archived from the original on December 22 2022 Retrieved November 22 2017 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Arthur Laffer Wikiquote has quotations related to Arthur Laffer Appearances on C SPAN Jude Wanniski Sketching the Laffer Curve The Yorktown Patriot June 14 2005 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Arthur Laffer amp oldid 1135800471, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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