How Art Laffer Created The Cult Of Reaganomics

Arthur Laffer is often called the godfather of supply-side economics. The economist made a splash in the mid-1970s after he published the infamous “Laffer Curve,” a widely criticized economic theory that suggested cutting taxes for the richest people in America would ultimately lead to more economic prosperity and government revenue, trickling down to the rest of us.

In 1974, Laffer sketched the curve on a napkin for two young members of the Ford administration, Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, along with Wall Street Journal columnist Jude Wanniski. But the supply-side cult’s most consequential convert was future president Ronald Reagan, someone who allegedly “did a complete 180” on economics after learning about supply-side economics.

As part of the Tax Revolt series airing on Lever Time, audio producers Arjun Singh and Ariella Markowitz had a chance to sit down with Laffer in an exclusive full interview, available only to paid subscribers. This exclusive interview talks about: 

• The California actor-turned-lawmaker who ballooned the national debt.
• The kitchen cabinet approach that would upend a half century of economic policy.
• Why one economist thinks getting rich is just “human nature” — and why “there’s something very wrong with poor people.”

Listen to and read the full interview below, exclusively for The Lever’s paid subscribers.

How Art Laffer Created The Cult Of Reaganomics 

By Arjun Singh and Ariella Markowitz

In the 1970s, when the nation was experiencing the dizzying effects of stagflation — high unemployment and high inflation — Dr. Arthur Laffer was a young economist drawing on napkins.