In February 2025, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) published its ‘Essential Policy Solutions’ playbook for 2025, doubling down on its decades-long campaign to eliminate state corporate and individual income taxes and replace them with higher sales taxes—a regressive shift …
American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)Lisa NelsonArthur LafferState Policy NetworkHeritage Foundation+4 morealectax-policystate-legislationcorporate-corruptionregressive-taxation+6 more
By 2019, research documented the cumulative impact of ALEC’s systematic corporate tax-cutting campaign: the effective state and local tax rate on corporate profits had declined from 5.9% in 1989 to 3.9% in 2019—a 33% reduction representing the successful culmination of three decades of …
American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)State LegislaturesCorporate LobbyGood Jobs FirstEconomic Policy Institute+1 morealeccorporate-corruptiontax-policyrace-to-bottomfiscal-crisis+5 more
On May 22, 2012, Kansas Governor Sam Brownback signed Senate Bill Substitute HB 2117, implementing what became known as the ‘Kansas experiment’—the most aggressive implementation of ALEC’s corporate tax-cutting agenda ever attempted by a U.S. state. The legislation eliminated state …
Sam BrownbackArthur LafferAmerican Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)Kansas LegislatureKoch Industriesaleccorporate-corruptiontax-policykansassupply-side-economics+5 more
In 2007, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) launched its first annual ‘Rich States, Poor States: ALEC-Laffer State Economic Competitiveness Index’ report, co-authored by economist Arthur Laffer, Stephen Moore, and ALEC staff. The report ranked all 50 states based on 15 …
American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)Arthur LafferStephen MooreJonathan WilliamsKoch Industriesaleccorporate-corruptiontax-policyrace-to-bottompropaganda+4 more
On May 28, 2003, President George W. Bush signed the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act (JGTRRA) into law, completing the second phase of the Bush tax cuts and fundamentally restructuring taxation to favor investment income over wages. The legislation reduced the long-term capital gains …
George W. BushDick CheneyBill ThomasCharles GrassleyAmericans for Tax Reform+3 moretax-policybush-administrationsupply-side-economicscapital-gainsdividend-taxation+4 more
On June 7, 2001, President George W. Bush signed the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act (EGTRRA) into law, enacting the first wave of the ‘Bush tax cuts’ that would add approximately $1.5 trillion to the national debt over the 2002-2011 decade, excluding interest. The …
George W. BushDick CheneyPaul O'NeillDennis HastertTrent Lott+3 moretax-policybush-administrationsupply-side-economicswealth-transferdeficit-spending+4 more
Ronald Reagan leaves office with a domestic legacy of systematic corruption, regulatory capture, and policy failures that define American political economy for decades. The S&L crisis triggered by his deregulation will ultimately cost taxpayers $160 billion and require prosecuting 1,000+ bankers …
Ronald ReaganGeorge H.W. BushAmerican publicreagan-legacycorruptionpolicy-failureeconomic-inequalityderegulation
On October 22, 1986, President Ronald Reagan signed the Tax Reform Act of 1986 (TRA86) into law, implementing the most dramatic restructuring of the federal tax code since World War II. The legislation reduced the number of individual income tax brackets from 16 to just 2, slashing the top marginal …
Ronald ReaganDan RostenkowskiBob PackwoodBill BradleyJack Kemp+2 moretax-policyreagan-administrationsupply-side-economicswealth-transfercorporate-corruption+3 more
President Roosevelt issues Executive Order 9328, the “Hold the Line Order,” on April 8, 1943, directing the National War Labor Board to prohibit any further wage increases except to correct substandard conditions or inequities. The order freezes wages for most workers while corporate …
Franklin D. RooseveltNational War Labor BoardOffice of Price AdministrationAFLCIO+1 morewage-suppressionlabor-policywartime-controlsclass-warfareeconomic-inequality
Louisiana Senator Huey P. Long dies on September 10, 1935, two days after being shot by Dr. Carl Weiss in the Louisiana State Capitol, ending the most significant populist challenge to both concentrated wealth and New Deal moderation. Long’s “Share Our Wealth” movement, which he …
Huey LongCarl WeissFranklin D. RooseveltShare Our Wealth SocietyLouisiana political machinewealth-redistributionpopulismpolitical-assassinationnew-dealeconomic-inequality