See Wanniski.com
Posted on 08/29/2005 6:52:02 PM PDT by ReagansRaiders
This article originally appeared at: http://tooconservative.blogspot.com/2005/08/supply-side-economics-loses-parent-who.html
Sad news tonight to report from the world of supply-side economics. Jude Wanniski, the man who coined the term "supply-side" while working for the Wall Street Journal, passed away as the result of a heart attack that he suffered earlier today. I only met the man a few times, but I am close friends with one of his sons who I got to know while working for Steve Forbes. My heart goes out to my friend and I want him to know that he and his family are in my family's thoughts and prayers.
Jude Wanniski, along with economist Arthur Laffer (of the Laffer Curve fame), shaped modern-day conservative economics and influenced leaders including Ronald Reagan, Jack Kemp and Steve Forbes. While he may be gone, his ideas and spirit will continue to guide principled conservatives for generations to come. You may have titled your touchstone book "The Way The World Works," but you lay claim to having helped change the world. For that, I salute and honor you. May God hold you in the hallow of His hand.
Jude Wanniski's website can be found at: www.polyconomics.com.
Jude Wanniski, founder and chairman of Polyconomics, Inc., is a world-renowned political economist whose 1978 book The Way the World Works was named one of the 100 most influential books of the 20th Century by the editors of the National Review. At the heart of the book is his 1978 discovery of the cause of the 1929 stock market crash, a discovery that vindicates the classical economics, which had been blamed for the Crash and the Great Depression. It was during his tenure as Associate Editor of The Wall Street Journal – 1972 to 1978 – that he coined the phrase "Supply-side Economics," which puts classical theory into modern garb. He was an advisor to Ronald Reagan from 1978 to 1981, and designed the Reagan tax cuts that propelled the U.S. economy out of stagflation and led to the great stock market boom that followed. He has counseled Democrats as well as Republicans in the years since, pro bono, and has developed pro-growth strategies for several governments. A key to his singular success has been his use of the dollar/gold price fluctuations in understanding the risk variables that influence investment decisions. Mr. Wanniski, 67, founded Polyconomics in 1978 to advise corporate and financial strategists on the impact political events would have on the stock and bond markets and on the domestic and global economy. He and his team of analysts in Parsippany, NJ, counsel Wall Street clients who collectively manage trillions of dollars, using a unique analytical framework, that has evolved in 25 years of dramatically successful forecasting. Polyconomics was alone in attributing the Crash of 1987 to monetary errors by the Reagan Treasury and the Federal Reserve, and has been alone in warning since 1997 that the U.S. economy was suffering a rare variety of monetary deflation. Mr. Wanniski appears frequently in the broadcast and print media, and also writes weekly commentary for the Polyconomics website. His daily "Memos on the Margin" appears at Wanniski.com, and he also presides over a free, virtual "Supply-side University," which has 3000 registered students around the world. Trained in political science and communication, he brings a unique meld of experience in journalism, academia, politics and business to his audiences, demonstrating an uncommon facility in imparting efficient and profound information on the unfolding political economy. Mr. Wanniski holds a B.A. in Political Science and and M.S. in Journalism from UCLA
I am really upset about this. Jude was a great man and I, along with so many others, learned so much from him. God bless him.
I read it with a smile, and couldn't get mad at it, or him. Part of it was because I felt there was no such thing as bad publicity. But part of it was because the message was written in the manner of someone regretting a silly mistake and hopeful that the young, inexperienced author would someday see the error of his ways, rather than in the manner of a bitter scold (in the manner of, say, a Paul Krugman).
He had eccentric, often unpredictable views beyond economics, but was interesting to read. And he mattered. I still have the e-mail, and am sad to hear this.
The important lesson to learn from him is that we should all be wary of what we hear in the media, and that there are two sides, or even more, to every story. And always be willing to learn.
It's a real shame that he met with disapproval and was informally shunned by the right. But without him, there wouldn't have been a Reagan administration. He forever changed the Republican economic strategy to one where tax cuts take precedence over "fiscal responsibility" - which voters correctly assumed to mean tax increases. He was a great man and he deserves to be remembered fondly. Goodbye, Jude.
RIP Mr.Wanniski.
See Wanniski.com
Wanniski was cogent, insightful, and a blast to read. I liked him precisely for the reason that many in the conservative movement passed him by. He wasn't cowed by the prevailing orthodoxy and afraid to speak. He wrote and published regularly on LewRockwell.com (a libertarian anti-war site). He was an economic genius, and although I disagreed with him on lots of issues, I would have feared to have to debate him on those very issues. He always had my respect, if not my agreement.
RIP. We lost a good man.
This is a sad day for America. He had a great influence on Jack Kemp's economic philosophy who in turn converted Reagan to supply side thinking. His book "How The World Works" should be read alonside "The Wealth of Nations".
He should've stuck to economics because he was wholly appeasement minded and idiotic when it came to geo politics.
And I just read his revolting comments about Minister Farrakhan. Just because he is dead does not give him a pass. If Paul Craig Roberts were to pass on also, he would not get a pass either!
It's too bad that late in life Wanniski drank the Lugnut Rockwell kool-aid. Let this not sully his legacy as an economist.
I'm sad to hear this news. His thought-provoking writings will be missed.
How fitting. The antisemitic bastage. May he rest in peace.
Actually, not that sound. His views did help counter the Keynesian nonsense that was so prevalent (and still is), but it wasn't the end-all be-all. Austrians have made some very cogent critiques of the supply-siders.
I fully agree with Jude Wanniski's supply side ideas. Especially a simple tax system, a rising tide lifting all boats, and his crusade to return to the gold standard.
My problem with him is his continued apology for the likes of Yaser Arafat ( calling him a good man ), Saddam Hussein ( Wanniski to his dying day still maintains that Saddam never gassed the Kurds and never indulged in WMD development and was a benign dictator ), and of course, the raise baiting of Louis Farakhan.
Had he sticked to his specialty ( economics ), he would have been a hero to me. As such, his opinion record is a mixed bag.
May God rest his soul.
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