Bruce Bartlett

Bruce Bartlett

BRUCE BARTLETT is a columnist and blogger for The Fiscal Times. He was previously a columnist for Forbes Magazine and Creators Syndicate. His writing often focuses on the intersection between politics and economics and attempts to inform politicians about economics and economists about the current nature of politics. Bartlett also blogs at Capital Gains and Games.

Bartlett’s work is informed by many years in government, including service on the staffs of Congressmen Ron Paul and Jack Kemp and Senator Roger Jepsen; as staff director of the Joint Economic Committee of Congress; senior policy analyst in the Reagan White House; and deputy assistant secretary for economic policy at the Treasury Department during the George H.W. Bush administration.

Bruce is the author of seven books including The New York Times bestseller Impostor: How George W. Bush Bankrupted America and Betrayed the Reagan Legacy (Doubleday, 2006). His latest book is The New American Economy: The Failure of Reaganomics and a New Way Forward (Palgrave Macmillan, 2009).

Recent Stories By Bruce Bartlett:

  • Where to Find Good Policy Analysis, Part 2March 20, 2014

    In a previous post, I discussed some good sources of public policy analysis. Today I want to look especially at those related to tax policy. Joint Committee on Taxation. The JCT is a congressional...

  • Where to Find Good Policy Analysis, Part 1March 14, 2014

    If you're tired of looking for well-reasoned, unbiased assessments of government policy proposals, I have a list that can help. A few weeks ago, I discussed where reporters and analysts could find...

  • The Bipartisan Policy VacuumMarch 10, 2014

    Last week, I identified the deep level of policy unseriousness in the Republican Party as the principal barrier to tax reform. This week brings fresh evidence that the party simply does not care...

  • A Good Tax Reform Plan the GOP Won’t Even ConsiderFebruary 28, 2014

    On Wednesday, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp. Republican of Michigan, finally unveiled a tax reform plan many years in the making behind closed doors. There is no question that it...

  • Is Poor Forecasting the Achilles Heel of Economics?February 21, 2014

    In a recent column, the economic journalist Robert J. Samuelson excoriated the economics profession for doing a poor job of anticipating, explaining or offering useful advice regarding the economic...

  • Tax Reform is Dead Until a New President Is ElectedFebruary 14, 2014

    The Senate Finance Committee is generally considered to be the most powerful Senate committee. Its jurisdiction covers not only tax policy, but trade and entitlement programs such as Social Security...

  • Do Businesses Benefit from Unemployment?February 7, 2014

    There is an old theory of unemployment that says employers benefit from high unemployment because it keeps workers under control. They are less inclined to strike, to quit their jobs to look for a...

  • Presidential Power, Bipartisan HypocrisyJanuary 30, 2014

    I am not a big fan of the common view that Republicans and Democrats are equally guilty of various things that the general public abhors about the way Washington works. In my view, one side is almost...

  • Bitcoin: The Future of Money or Flash in the Pan?January 24, 2014

    There has been a lot about Bitcoins in the media lately. They are a type of electronic currency that is “mined” by computers and theoretically capped at a maximum of 21 million coins. Almost daily,...

  • Slashing the IRS Budget—Penny-Wise and Pound-FoolishJanuary 17, 2014

    There is an old trick in both government and business to get rid of an operation you don’t like through stealth—you simply cut its budget gradually, thus causing its effectiveness to suffer, and then...

  • Enterprise Zones: A Bipartisan FailureJanuary 10, 2014

    On Wednesday, President Obama endorsed the idea of “promise zones,” a variation of the old Republican idea of enterprise zones. These new zones—located in San Antonio, Philadelphia, Los Angeles,...

  • Why Legalizing Marijuana Is a Smart Fiscal MoveJanuary 3, 2014

    On January 1, sales and use of recreational marijuana became legal in the state of Colorado. Washington State and the nation of Uruguay will follow later this year. Other states such as Oregon and...

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