Category Archives: Fiscal Policy

WSJ: Finding America’s Lost 3% Growth

Posted in: Fiscal Policy, Monetary Policy | September 13, 2017 at 11:53 am , by mariel

If the country can’t grow like it once did, then the American Dream really is irretrievably lost. By Phil Gramm and Michael Solon Sept. 10, 2017 4:04 p.m. ET Growth deniers are declaring that America’s economy has lost its ability to grow at 3% above inflation. If that’s the case, maybe...

WSJ: Reagan Cut Taxes, Revenue Boomed

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Reagan Cut Taxes, Revnue Boomed WSJ Artwork

The model of tax-rate cuts and deregulation can work again to restore faster growth and lift incomes. By Phil Gramm and Michael Solon Aug. 3, 2017 6:51 p.m. ET A great advantage of having been present when history was made is that later you can sometimes recall what actually happened. Such institutional memory...

WSJ: The Economic Headwinds Obama Set in Motion

Posted in: Fiscal Policy, Monetary Policy | May 18, 2017 at 9:15 am , by mariel

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A booming recovery would force the Treasury and Fed to compete with the private sector for credit. By Phil Gramm and Thomas R. Saving May 17, 2017 Behind every significant postwar recovery has been the same driving force: a sustained rise in private investment and new home building, which increased...

WSJ: Do You Want Reagan’s Economy or Obama’s?

Posted in: Fiscal Policy, Tax Policy | April 20, 2017 at 1:17 pm , by mariel

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The CBO failed to predict the tax-reform boom of the 1980s and the weak recovery in recent years. By Phil Gramm and Michael Solon April 19, 2017 The best way to gauge America’s capacity to reignite economic growth through tax reform is to move beyond congressional economic models and look...

WSJ: How ‘Border Adjustment’ Poisons Tax Reform

Posted in: Fiscal Policy, Tax Policy | February 23, 2017 at 11:11 am , by mariel

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The House’s 20% import fee is political industrial policy that will convulse the economy. Better to follow the 1986 model. By Phil Gramm The goal of tax reform is to collect revenues while reducing the distorting influence that taxes impose on economic efficiency and growth. The 1986 tax reform stripped...

WSJ: Understanding the Trump Trade Agenda

Posted in: Fiscal Policy, Foreign Policy | December 2, 2016 at 9:56 am , by mariel

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Returning to the 1950s is impossible. But currency manipulation does hurt American workers. By PHIL GRAMM and MICHAEL SOLON If President-elect Trump is to establish a pro-growth trade policy, he must build upon America’s postwar trade history. A lesson from that history is that if trade policy is to reinforce...

WSJ: Why This Recovery Is So Lousy

Posted in: Financial Services, Fiscal Policy, Monetary Policy | October 18, 2016 at 10:51 am , by mariel

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Don’t believe the line that slow growth is inevitable after financial crises. Bad policies yield bad results. By PHIL GRAMM and MICHAEL SOLON Aug. 3, 2016 Donald Trump has been criticized by Democrats and Republicans alike for saying that “the American dream is dead.” But instead of slaying the messenger,...

WSJ: The Subprime Superhighway

Posted in: Fiscal Policy, Monetary Policy | October 6, 2016 at 5:29 pm , by mariel

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The U.S. and Europe are lowering capital standards for ‘investments’ in public infrastructure—ignoring the lessons from 2007-08. By, Phil Gramm More government spending, particularly for infrastructure projects, is the mantra in Washington and other capitals. But two factors stand in the way. First, the governments of most developed economies are...

WSJ: The Great Recession Blame Game

Posted in: Financial Services, Fiscal Policy | April 18, 2016 at 3:20 pm , by mariel

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Banks took the heat, but it was Washington that propped up subprime debt and then stymied recovery By Phil Gramm and Michael Solon April 15, 2016 When the subprime crisis broke in the 2008 presidential election year, there was little chance for a serious discussion of its root causes. Candidate Barack...

WSJ: Cheer Up, Obama’s Legacy Can Be Erased

Posted in: Fiscal Policy | December 21, 2015 at 4:19 pm , by mariel

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The White House rammed through an agenda that could be quickly undone by a Republican president. By PHIL GRAMM And MICHAEL SOLON Dec. 20, 2015 4:06 p.m. ET President Obama seems to aspire to join Franklin Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan as one of the three most transformative presidents of the past hundred...