The Role of the Federal Government in Offsetting Weak Economies

A conversation with economists Arthur Laffer and Jared Bernstein

Arthur B. Laffer’s influence in triggering worldwide tax-cutting in the 1980s earned him the nickname “The Father of Supply-Side Economics.” A former advisor to Donald Rumsfeld, Laffer was a member of Ronald Reagan's Economic Policy Advisory Board and has taught at Pepperdine University and the University of Chicago. His "Laffer Curve" was deemed a “memorable event” in financial history by the Institutional Investor in “The Heroes, Villains, Triumphs, Failures and Other Memorable Events.”

Jared Bernstein is a Senior Fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and has served as Chief Economist and Economic Adviser to Vice President Joe Biden and as executive director of the White House Task Force on the Middle Class. An expert on income inequality and mobility, Bernstein has held the post of deputy chief economist at the U.S. Department of Labor. He is the author of numerous books including Crunch: Why Do I Feel So Squeezed?