Category Archives: Uncategorized

The 25th president used reciprocity to press for an expansion of trade. The 47th is going backward. By Phil Gramm and Donald J. Boudreaux March 13, 2025 12:37 pm ET Equities markets roared in anticipation of the deregulation, tax cuts and fiscal restraint the second Trump administration promised. But the tariff...

‘Bracket creep’ is gone—unless you’re on Social Security, have capital gains or pay state taxes. By Michael Solon Feb. 26, 2025 5:08 pm ET As the debate heats up about whether and how to extend the 2017 tax cuts, the jury is out on a key question: Did the cuts generate...

Economic growth depends on deregulation, tax cuts and the budget deficit, not on the balance of trade. By Phil Gramm and Donald J. Boudreaux Feb. 20, 2025 5:05 pm ET It seems to be a matter of faith among protectionists that trade deficits make the U.S. an economic loser. President Trump...

Like our predecessors in 1930, we oppose the use of tariffs as a general tool for economic policy. By Phil Gramm and Larry Summers Jan. 30, 2025 1:55 pm ET In an extraordinary act of unity, 1,028 American professional economists in the spring of 1930 signed a letter urging Congress to reject and...

Johnson can keep the GOP united by proposing a bill ending every Democrat-supported malady at once. By Michael Solon Jan. 23, 2025 2:39 pm ET Now that Mike Johnson has been narrowly re-elected speaker, House Republicans are focused on using the reconciliation process to extend President Trump’s 2017 tax cuts and control the...

Limit asylum claims, reduce welfare and open the door to highly skilled foreign nationals. By Phil Gramm Jan. 13, 2025 2:25 pm ET My wife’s grandmother, Soon Nam Char, was a picture bride. Orphaned in Korea when the Japanese killed her stiff-necked parents, she came to America in the early 20th century...

Most of the high-achieving U.S. students to whom we award college scholarships have foreign-born parents. By Phil Gramm and Robert Topel Dec. 23, 2024 4:58 pm ET In a country with widespread use of quotas, preferences and set-asides, we seldom see unadulterated merit, especially in academics. As board members of a...

Costs are passed on to consumers. If you work for and invest in companies, you get hit three times. By Phil Gramm and Mike Solon April 23, 2024 1:48 pm ET In his call for Congress to repeal the 2017 tax cuts and increase corporate tax rates, President Biden asked: “Are...

A minimum 10% levy on all goods would hike domestic prices, reduce wages and invite foreign retaliation. By Phil Gramm and Donald J. Boudreaux Nov. 13, 2024 4:44 pm ET Donald Trump hopes to supercharge economic growth, restore manufacturing employment, and raise wages by imposing across-the-board tariffs of at least 10%, with...

Rates were high in the 19th century, but the economy boomed most when the rates were at their lowest. By Phil Gramm and Donald J. Boudreaux Oct. 16, 2024 4:39 pm ET Modern protectionists are desperate to find historical examples of tariffs promoting industrialization and economic growth. To this end, they...