Written by Robby Mangum
On Thursday, Sep. 26, economist and author Dr. Art Laffer visited Roanoke College to start a dialogue about the present state of the economy and the directions it may trend toward in the future. He engaged with students in a variety of contexts, from a conversational lunch to an evening address. Dr. Laffer was invited and hosted by Dr. Alice Kassens (RC’s John S. Shannon Professor of Economics), the Center for Economic Freedom, Trustee David Guy, and the Young Americans Foundation.
Thursday’s events began when Laffer joined 13 economics majors in a luncheon, where he discussed his supply-side economic theories and answered questions. Afterward, he delivered an exclusive lecture in the ballroom that was advertised to business administration and economics students. Later in the evening, he delivered a talk that was open to both the RC and Salem communities. Kassens described Laffer as having a “remarkable level of energy” throughout the day.
During his open talk, Laffer discussed what he believes to be necessary to achieve economic prosperity. He described the economic plans that he has created with while working with state and federal political campaigns. He detailed his boldest plan, which would involve replacing all taxes with a 13 percent flat tax across the board.
Laffer also discussed how he thought the current presidential administration was doing a great job with economics, stating that their tax plan was the best he’d ever seen. He also took the opportunity to assuage fears of the growing national debt.
“Debt is a tool,” said Laffer, describing how debt simply functions as an implement for negotiating.
Laffer is considered to be the “Father of Supply-Side Economics.” He is best known for proposing the Laffer Curve, which illustrates a theoretical relationship between rates of taxation and the resulting levels of government revenue. He served on President Reagan’s Economic Policy Advisory Board from 1981 through 1989 and functioned as an economics advisor to President Trump’s 2016 campaign. Trump awarded Laffer the Presidential Medal of Freedom last June.
Kassens said that she was fortunate enough to meet Laffer unexpectedly at an event in Roanoke hosted by Pinnacle Bank. Kassens said that if this chance meeting hadn’t occurred, RC would probably have never ended up on Laffer’s radar. She said that they were initially worried about empty seats at the evening talk but did not want to charge ticket price for the event since they “couldn’t put a price on it.” Kassens and colleagues were ultimately satisfied with the talk’s strong turnout.
The Center for Economic Freedom is an initiative founded by Kassens two years ago that encourages students and the community to explore principles of the free market through reading, writing, and discourse. The Center aims to host two speakers each semester. For more information about this organization and its activities, contact Kassens via email at kassens@roanoke.edu.
