Honoring Art Laffer… and Paying Tribute to Charlie Kirk, Martyr in a Good Cause

Personal Note: My wife and I had just returned from a big event in Washington D.C. honoring supply-side economist Art Laffer (84) and celebrating the 50^th anniversary of the Laffer Curve (see “You Nailed It” column below), when our celebration was cut short as we heard the news that Christian conservative activist and media titan Charlie Kirk had been shot by an assassin’s bullet at a “Prove Me Wrong” event at Utah Valley University and was later pronounced dead.

What a tragedy for this young man, age 31, married with 2 children. He did not deserve this sudden end to his youthful and influential career. He was not a hot head, he did not insult his critics, nor did he provoke them to violence. He was a perfect example of someone who believed in persuasion over force, and he apparently persuaded many young people to his side, so much so that somebody wanted him silenced.

I admired Charlie for his incredible skill and civility in his debates on college campuses, both here and abroad. There was nothing like him. He was quick on his feet, not knowing the questions in advance. He listened patiently to his critics, who often used abusive language, and responded with calm, reason and eloquence, some times even admitting he was wrong. Millions watched short clips on Youtube of his tête-à-tête exchanges with his opponents.

As the president of Turning Point USA, he spoke a number of times at FreedomFest, inspiring students and adults alike. He was the model of civil discourse, always kind, calm, prepared and informed. Even when I didn’t agree with him on some issue, I respected his opinion.

It is a sad commentary on America that we have people in this country who can’t handle political debate and therefore resort to violence. It happens all too often these days. Even some politicians have encouraged violent protests.

Let’s hope his martyrdom is indeed a “turning point” in the USA, and that we will become a more civil and better people as a result of his tragic death.

Yes, we need to step up security on all college campuses and anyplace where controversial speakers talk publicly, but we also need to teach and preach civility, honor and decency among all our people from the youth on up and the president on down.

We will dedicate the general session room at next year’s FreedomFest to Charlie Kirk and will discuss how we can honor his life and legacy. It’s time we stopped the divisive rhetoric, the hatred toward those with whom we disagree and the name calling (please, enough of splitting America into “left” and “right” wing).
We must seek “best solutions” to our problems and differences so we can maintain our unique right to free speech in America.

Upcoming Conferences

Orlando Money Show, Oct. 16-18, ChampionsGate Resort:

I’ll be giving workshops on “20 Amazing Charts on Money and the Economy” and “Lazy Man’s Way to Riches: My Five Favorite ‘Buy and Hold’ Investments that Beat the Market,” followed by an autograph session. Other speakers include Charles Payne, Steve Moore, Keith Fitz-Gerald and Peter Schiff. To register, call 800-970-4355 and be sure to mention you are a F&S subscriber. Use this code for a discount: The MoneyShow Orlando.

New Orleans Gold Conference, Nov. 2-5, Rivergate Hilton:

If gold and silver are on your mind (and it should be), there is no better conference to attend than this granddaddy of investment conferences in New Orleans. I’ve been a speaker there longer than anyone else. (As you can see from the picture above, I tower over everyone!) For details, use this link: https://neworleansconference.com/skousen/. Be sure to mention you are a Skousen subscriber. Note: The retail price is $995 per ticket onsite, but if you use my name, you get a discounted price of $595 right now for primary, $450 for guest and $375 for virtual.

Yours for peace, prosperity and liberty, AEIOU,

Mark Skousen

You Nailed It!

Honoring Art Laffer and the Laffer Curve

On Tuesday, Sept. 9, Jo Ann and I attended a gala event at the elegant “Cash Room” of the U.S. Department of Treasury in Washington, D.C. Organized by Steve Moore and his organization, Unleash Prosperity, over 200 people gathered to honor Arthur B. Laffer in celebration of 50 years of the Laffer curve. In 1975, Art drew his famous Laffer curve demonstrating that if tax rates are too high, cutting rates can actually increase revenues.

Although there is a long history of this phenomenon (In his classical book “The Wealth of Nations,” Adam Smith gives an example of cutting the tea tax in Britain, resulting in more revenues), the Laffer curve has been applied successfully to encourage cutting marginal tax rates around the globe.

Art Laffer is a young 84 (see photo above). Laffer’s influence has been significant with the gradual reduction in marginal tax rates from 94% to 37% today; 38 states have now abolished estate taxes. However, capital gains and sales taxes have risen.

Both Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and House Speaker Mike Johnson spoke at this special event, lauding the influence of Laffer on presidents from Ronald Reagan to Donald Trump. Also in attendance were Steve Forbes, John Fund, Grover Norquist, Laura Ingram and oil billionaire Harold Hamm.

I sat next to Art at dinner; he told me he meets with President Trump frequently, and is convinced that Trump is actually a “free trader” whose trade war will ultimately reduce trade barriers. (No one else at the table agreed with him on the Trump trade war.)

During the event, I approached both Secretary Bessent and Speaker Johnson and showed them a 2025 American eagle silver dollar (now valued at nearly $50 each!) and asked them, “Do you recognize this coin?” Surprisingly Bessent had no idea that the U.S. Mint, which is part of the Treasury Department, still produces silver dollars (50 million last year!) Happily, Johnson immediately recognized it as a silver dollar.

I highly recommend you subscribe to Steve Moore’s free daily newsletter. Go here to sign up: https://committeetounleashprosperity.com/.