Arthur Laffer that U.S. tax rates had in fact reached such extreme levels." Laffer is currently an economic adviser to Kansas Governor Sam Brownback, who in 2012 zeroed out state tax liability for approximately 330,000 of the top wage earners in the state. The state, which had previously had a budget surplus, experienced a budget deficit of about $200 million in 2012. Drastic cuts to state funding for education and infrastructure have been implemented because of the budget deficits. Brownback's tax overhaul was described in a June 2017 article in "The Atlantic" as the United States' "most aggressive experiment in conservative economic
Arthur Laffer on the "Board of Scholars" of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). Laffer was one of four economists who acted as advisors to Donald Trump's successful 2016 campaign for the presidency of the United States. Laffer was born in Youngstown, Ohio, the son of Marian Amelia "Molly" (née Betz), a homemaker and politician, and William Gillespie Laffer, a president of the Clevite Corporation. He was raised a Presbyterian, and graduated from University School high school in 1958. Laffer earned a B.A. in Economics from Yale University (1962) and an M.B.A. (1965) and a Ph.D. in Economics (1972) from Stanford University.