President Donald Trump will award economist Art Laffer with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
The ceremony will take place June 19, the White House announced in a press release. (RELATED: White House Aide Says WSJ Falsely Accused Him Of Speaking To Meeting He Didn’t Attend)
“Arthur B. Laffer, the ‘Father of Supply-Side Economics,’ is one of the most influential economists in American history,” the White House said in a statement. “He is renowned for his economic theory, the ‘Laffer Curve,’ which establishes the strong incentive effects of lower tax rates that spur investment, production, jobs, wages, economic growth, and tax compliance.”
Art Laffer, Screen Shot CNN, 4-4-2016
Laffer is widely considered the intellectual founder of “Reaganomics,” the economic philosophy named after former Republican President Ronald Reagan, which emphasizes tax cuts, deregulation, and supply side economics. He is also the namesake for the Laffer Curve, a disputed political theory that postulates cutting taxes actually increases tax revenue in some circumstances.
The decision to award Laffer the Medal of Freedom comes a year after Laffer wrote a book titled “Trumponomics,” a book co-written by fellow conservative economist Stephen Moore. (RELATED: Art Laffer Explains Why The US Isn’t In A Trade War)
The White House’s move will likely be met with intense criticism from liberals who have spent decades opposing Laffer’s economic philosophy.