From Reagan to Reality: The Case Against Tax Cuts for the Rich (with Bruce Bartlett)

Pitchfork Economics with Nick Hanauer

As Republicans work at break-neck speed to push another round of massive tax cuts for the wealthy, we thought it would be a good idea to revisit our 2019 conversation with Bruce Bartlett, a Reagan policy adviser and key architect of the 1981 tax cuts. Bartlett explains how the trickle-down logic he once championed turned out to be economic snake oil, because tax breaks for the wealthy don’t grow the economy—they just grow inequality.


Bruce Bartlett is an American historian and former economic adviser who helped draft the 1981 Reagan tax cuts. He served in senior roles under Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush, including at the Treasury Department and the Joint Economic Committee of Congress. Once a champion of supply-side economics, Bartlett is now a leading critic of trickle-down tax policy.


This episode originally aired January 29, 2019.


Social Media:

@bartlettb.bsky.social

@BruceBartlett


Further reading: 

Trump tax bill will add $2.4 trillion to the deficit and leave 10.9 million more uninsured, CBO says


The secret saga of Trump’s tax cuts


Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com

Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics

Threads: pitchforkeconomics

Bluesky: @pitchforkeconomics.bsky.social

Twitter: @PitchforkEcon, @NickHanauer, @civicaction

YouTube: @pitchforkeconomics

LinkedIn: Pitchfork Economics

Substack: The Pitch

More description

As Republicans work at break-neck speed to push another round of massive tax cuts for the wealthy, we thought it would be a good idea to revisit our 2019 conversation with Bruce Bartlett, a Reagan policy adviser and key architect of the 1981 tax cuts. Bartlett explains how the trickle-down logic he once championed turned out to be economic snake oil, because tax breaks for the wealthy don’t grow the economy—they just grow inequality.


Bruce Bartlett is an American historian and former economic adviser who helped draft the 1981 Reagan tax cuts. He served in senior roles under Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush, including at the Treasury Department and the Joint Economic Committee of Congress. Once a champion of supply-side economics, Bartlett is now a leading critic of trickle-down tax policy.


This episode originally aired January 29, 2019.


Social Media:

@bartlettb.bsky.social

@BruceBartlett


Further reading: 

Trump tax bill will add $2.4 trillion to the deficit and leave 10.9 million more uninsured, CBO says


The secret saga of Trump’s tax cuts


Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com

Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics

Threads: pitchforkeconomics

Bluesky: @pitchforkeconomics.bsky.social

Twitter: @PitchforkEcon, @NickHanauer, @civicaction

YouTube: @pitchforkeconomics

LinkedIn: Pitchfork Economics

Substack: The Pitch

2025-06-10 36 min
Listen elsewhere

Available Results

Generated results are saved to your library for reuse and search.

No generated results are available for this episode yet.

Transcript

No transcript is available for this episode yet.
Sign in to generate a transcript for review.
Sign in

Chapters

No chapters available.