President Donald Trump announced Friday that he would give a Presidential Medal of Freedom to the “trickle down” economics evangelist and co-author of “Trumponomics,” Arthur Laffer.
“Arthur B. Laffer, the ‘Father of Supply-Side Economics,’ is one of the most influential economists in American history,” read a press release from the White House Friday afternoon. “He is renowned for his economic theory, the ‘Laffer Curve,’ which establishes the strong incentive effects of lower tax rates that spur investment, production, jobs, wages, economic growth, and tax compliance.”
The medal will be awarded on June 19, the White House said.
Laffer is perhaps best known for advancing the belief that cutting taxes on the wealthy and corporations, which Donald Trump and congressional Republicans did to a significant extent in late 2017, will increase tax revenue and benefit the economy overall.
Trump’s timing is notable: A nonpartisan analysis from the Congressional Research Service released last week found that, far from the Republicans’ tax cuts “paying for themselves,” as was widely asserted as a talking point during the 2017 debate over the tax cut legislation, the cuts did not have their advertised effect.
The Los Angeles Times summarized: “The CRS finds that the cuts have had virtually no effect on wages, haven’t contributed to a surge in investment, and haven’t come close to paying for themselves. Nor have they delivered a cut to the average taxpayer.”
"If you cut that tax rate to 15%, it will pay for itself many times over… this will bring in probably $1.5T net by itself." —Art Laffer pic.twitter.com/cXxGBtxqz1
— FOX Business (@FoxBusiness) September 21, 2017
Laffer, along with right-wing pundit Stephen Moore, who was briefly considered for a Federal Reserve Board nomination, together wrote “Trumponomics: Inside the America First Plan to Revive Our Economy.”
It’s hardly the first time Trump has used the powers of his office to boost an ally: In May, he issued a pardon for his friend, former business associate and author of “Donald J. Trump: A President Like No Other,” the billionaire Conrad Black.
