Reaganomics and its supply-side ideology are still failing us: Michael Miles

TAX REVOLT, Part Two: Supply Side Santa Claus

When Ronald Reagan was elected president in 1980, no one knew how much the Republican Party — and the country — was about to change. His historic tax bills in 1981 and 1986 forged a new path of American economic policy, setting the stage for today’s antitax frenzy. Behind the president’s tax cuts was a small group of powerful economists who took a chance on a brand-new school of thought and sought to convert an entire generation of policymakers.…

Reaganomics and its supply-side ideology are still failing us: Michael Miles

Nearly a half-century ago, a new economic ideology achieved dominance over FDR’s New Deal. Reaganomics – the friendly moniker for a radical notion called supply-side economics – asserted that slashing taxes and regulations would spur rapid growth by unleashing the “supply side” of the economy. After the high interest rates and stagflation of the mid-’70s, Americans were ready to try something new. Today, with rising debt, rising income inequalit…