Friday, May 8, 2009

Supply side - Jack Kemp

Recently Jack Kemp passed away and he is remembered for his football career and for his advocacy of supply side economics. Supply side emphasized the reduction of taxes for business and people who were doing well financially to encourage them to increase investment, providing jobs and creating significantly increased economic activity that would lead to increased tax revenues to some extent. Supply siders did not to my knowledge ever argue to eliminate taxes altogether and if you were to research it a bit they advocate using the Laffer curve that effectively correlates tax rates and tax revenues and argues there is a point at which tax revenues are maximized. So, in theory, supply siders should advocate increased taxes if they fall too low on the curve.

The alternate and prior pre-dominant theory was Keynesian economics. Its basic theory was that you should incentivize consumers, release money into the economy to effectively increase demand. Of course higher demand leads to higher prices encouraging more production, increased economic activity and once again increased tax revenues.

Not sure the term supply side is used much anymore, but generally its proponents were primarily Republicans (pro business) and Democrats were more Keynesian (pro consumer). Of course over the years things have gotten a bit muddled. You had the prior administration providing tax rebates to all taxpayers, very Keynesian, and the current administration giving thebanks guarantees, supplyish.

Not that anyone probably cares and it may be a legacy of when I studied economics in school, but I've always been much more Keynesian.

Still, I was sorry that Jack Kemp passed away, not often that an ex-football player gets his name associated with an economic theory.

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