Friday, February 20, 2015

Committee to Unleash American Prosperity

In a recent column, Larry Kudlow announced the formation of a new group that appears to want to influence American economic policy.

He wrote:
Yes, believe it or not, Wisconsin governor Scott Walker actually spoke at some length at the dinner this past week where Rudy Giuliani charged that President Obama doesn't love America. All the hullabaloo went to Giuliani, but in terms of the Republican presidential race, a number of Scott Walker's pointed comments about policy and politicians are not to be missed.

First a word about the dinner itself, which was generously backed by John Catsimatidis. It was the second event sponsored by the Committee to Unleash American Prosperity, a new group founded by Arthur Laffer, Steve Moore, Steve Forbes and myself. Just as the Committee on the Present Danger — formed by Midge Decter, Norman Podhoretz, and Irving Kristol — worried about the decline in American foreign policy in the late 1970s, we are worried about the decline in American economic growth over the past 15 years.

Our view is simple: To maximize growth, jobs, opportunity and upward mobility, the U.S. must recapture the first principles of economic growth that were so successful in the 1960s, '80s and '90s. Namely, pro-growth policies should seek a low-rate, broad-based flat tax, limited government spending, the lightest possible economic regulations, sound money and free trade.

Since 2000, the U.S. economy has barely reached 2 percent growth per year. Over the prior 100 years, American growth averaged 3.4 percent annually. To get back to the long-run trend — which epitomizes the most powerful engine of free-market capitalist prosperity in the history of history — future growth over the next decade will have to average 4 percent annually.

To advance our policy goals, our committee (still in formation) will be interviewing all the Republican presidential candidates in the months ahead. A few weeks ago we had dinner with Texas governor Rick Perry. This week we welcomed Scott Walker.
I don't classify the members of this group as laissez faire advocates, but rather as soft-core interventionists, who sometimes fall on the laissez faire side of an issue and at other times muddy the pure laissez faire position by claiming a soft-core interventionist position they hold is the laissez faire position.

In other words, they are at best a very mixed bag. I am only featuring the news of the formation of this group here, becasue they are a very politically savvy group. So good or bad. we are likely to be hearing much more from them. They will have influence.

 --RW

3 comments:

  1. Thanks RW.
    Hmmm here's the rub. To ally with the "not so pure" or hold out for the pure.
    Larry vs Ron Paul, I guess.
    Boy, that's an old question, ain't it?
    I'd say, hold yer fire, and keep an eye on 'em.
    Ya know, at one time, I had my doubts about Ron Paul, 'cause he ran as a Republican (1980's). After a while, he proved himself to be an authentic hero. So, I'll wait...

    ReplyDelete
  2. I am old. But I have been praying 2 Chronicles 7:14 since 2008! Then when I read your names today, my heart jumped for joy! You are back! Now I am praying Numbers 6:24-26 for all of you!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I have been praying 2 Chronicles 7:14 since 2008. When I saw your names my heart jumped for joy! You're back! Now I am praying Numbers 6:24-26 for all of you!

    ReplyDelete