“Unintended Consequences is far smarter and more thought-provoking than most economics written for the general public” - Greg Mankiw, Harvard University, Former Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors
Frank Hill Reviews The Upside of Inequality for The North State Journal Review: The Upside of Inequality by Frank Hill for The North State Journal Many people hear the term “income inequality” and think: “We gotta do something to fix that!” Which almost always means pass more legislation and give more power to government officials. Ed Conard, former managing partner of Bain Capital, thinks differently. He sees rising income inequality as a good sign for an economy, not as a negative. As he writes in his eminently readable book, “The Upside of Inequality”: “Rising income inequality is the by-product of an economy… Read More
My new National Review op-ed explains why CBO expects the tax cut to pay for itself Is the tax cut expected to pay for itself? Yes — if we use the Congressional Budget Office’s forecast and any economically logical standard, the tax cut makes both current and future generations better off. The CBO now expects the nominal gross domestic product to increase nearly $750 billion more per year by 2020 than in its forecast prior to the tax cut. It originally attributed about one third of that growth to the tax-cut legislation — even by that estimate, the cut more than pays for itself. The CBO… Read More
Read My USA Today Op-Ed: “Tax Cut Law Helps Future Generations” Tax Cut Law Helps Future Generations A one-time increase in gross domestic product that generations can enjoy for years to come is not a 'sugar high' Borrowing to buy an asset that produces more income than the interest expense makes your children richer. The debt doesn’t make them poorer. Without this basic understanding of finance, deficit hawks can’t distinguish deficit-financed consumption from borrowing that increases the economy’s capacity to pay the interest on the borrowed money, including any resulting increase in the interest rate. The latter makes future generations richer,… Read More
A Trade Policy That Wouldn’t Leave Low-Wage Workers Behind Edward Conard National Review December 5, 2016 President-elect Donald Trump has shown Republicans how to forge a new electoral college majority by energizing blue-collar voters. His victory, with its demands to restrict trade and immigration, also marks the end of free-market advocates’ control over the Republican party. But there is a way that these advocates might find common ground with blue-collar Republicans to accelerate wage growth, better fund looming pension benefits without tax increases, and defeat the next iteration of liberalism. Republicans have always been a coalition of voting minorities,… Read More
Dallas Morning News Q&A: How We Can Address Growing Wage Disparity with Ultra-High-Skilled Immigration Ed Conard speaks with Jim Mitchell of the Dallas Morning News about his new book, The Upside of Inequality: How Good Intentions Undermine the Middle Class. Jim Mitchell Dallas Morning News October 13, 2016 Former Bain Capital managing director Edward Conard says middle-class prosperity is taking it on the chin, but the concentration of wealth in the top 1 percent is not the reason. The problem is the entrepreneurs have moved to Silicon Valley, with few left behind to re-employ workers in areas where factories are closing down. In his new book, The Upside of… Read More
“The Upside of Inequality” Reaches #1 on New York Times Business Book List My new book The Upside of Inequality: How Good Intentions Undermine the Middle Class reached #1 on the New York Times bestselling business book list this month. The National Review says Upside is “the Conservative answer to Thomas Piketty that you’ve all been waiting for.” Buy the book, write a review, or follow me on social media at www.EdwardConard.com/Action. Read More
Buzzfeed’s Ben Smith on My Views About Trumponomics & The Future of the GOP Buzzfeed’s Ben Smith summarizes my talk at Mitt Romney’s offsite conference on how advocates of free enterprise can find common ground with Trump supporters, and win the presidential election without slowing the economy or dividing the country. It’s a little over-the-top, with menacing music and such, but you can read Ben's post below and watch my presentation here. Buzzfeed by Ben Smith September 28, 2016 At a private gathering of wealthy Republicans this June, a banker named Edward Conard made a radical proposal: To save capitalism from Donald Trump, American business leaders would need to abandon old… Read More
“The Upside of Inequality” Reaches #8 on The New York Times Bestseller List! My new book The Upside of Inequality: How Good Intentions Undermine the Middle Class reached #8 on the New York Times bestseller list this week. I summarize the book for Morning Joe, Maria Bartiromo, The New York Times and TIME Magazine. The National Review says Upside is “the Conservative answer to Thomas Piketty that you’ve all been waiting for.” Buy the book, write a review, or follow me on social media at www.EdwardConard.com/Action. Read More
National Review: “The Upside of Inequality” Is The Conservative Answer to Piketty That You’ve All Been Waiting For National Review by Patrick Brennan September 19, 2016 It’s been a rough few years for conservative economics. In some arenas, such as federal policymaking, this is understandable, given who holds the White House. But the fact that we’re losing ground in the world of ideas, too, is less forgivable. In some arenas, such as federal policymaking, this is understandable, given who holds the White House. But the fact that we’re losing ground in the world of ideas, too, is less forgivable. Consider the economics books and ideas that have broken… Read More
What Liberals Don’t Understand About Income Inequality Edward Conard Time.com September 13, 2016 Blaming the success of America’s 1% for the slow growth of middle- and working-class incomes leads to policies that slow an already slow-growing economy. A shortage of properly trained talent and risk-taking limit the growth of America’s innovation-driven economy. In those circumstances, growth can manifest itself as an increase in employment or an increase in wages. When America spreads talent and entrepreneurial risk-taking over a greater number of workers, it slows middle- and working-class productivity and wage growth. U.S. employment has grown twice as… Read More
Edward Conard Debate Highlights Edward Conard published The Upside of Inequality: How Good Intentions Undermine the Middle Class in September 2016. The book debuted at #8 on the New York Times top ten non-fiction list and reached #1 on the New York Times business book list. Upside was met with positive reviews, including former president of Harvard University and economist Larry Summers, a very tough critic on the other side of the aisle, blurbed: I disagree but respect the argument, calling it “a very valuable contribution” that will “sharpen your thinking on critical economic issues.” National Review said of Conard and Upside:… Read More