Jude Wanniski

Jude Thaddeus Wanniski (June 17, 1936, Pottsville, Pennsylvania – August 29, 2005, Morristown, New Jersey) was an economist, journalist and conservative commentator. He is perhaps best known as the associate editor of The Wall Street Journal from 1972 to 1978. In 1976 Wanniski coined the term supply-side economics to distinguish the revival in classical economic thought from the more dominant "demand-side" Keynesian and monetarist theories.

Related Topics:
June 17 - 1936 - Pottsville, Pennsylvania - August 29 - 2005 - Morristown, New Jersey - Economist - Journalist - Associate editor - The Wall Street Journal - 1972 - 1978 - 1976 - Supply-side economics - Keynesian - Monetarist

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

His 1978 book, The Way The World Works helped lead a revival in classical economics and was named one of the 100 most influential books of the 20th century by National Review. It documented his discovery that the U.S. Senate's floor votes on the Smoot-Hawley tariff legislation coincided day-to-day with the October 1929 financial market collapse.

Related Topics:
1978 - 20th century - National Review - U.S. Senate - Smoot-Hawley tariff - October 1929 financial market collapse

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

He was an adviser to Ronald Reagan from 1978 to 1981, and designed the Reagan tax cuts during his first term in office.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1978 Wanniski started Polyconomics, a business focused on providing investment advice based on political and economic anaylsis. In 1997 Jude Wanniski founded the online learning center known as the "Supply Side University".

Related Topics:
1978 - Polyconomics - 1997

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1998, Wanniski attempted to foster dialogue between Louis Farrakhan and those who had labeled him anti-Semitic. He arranged for Farrakhan to be interviewed by reporter Jeffrey Goldberg who had written for the Jewish weekly The Forward and the New York Times. Since the extensive interview was never published in either publication, Wanniski decided to post the transcript on his website in the context of a memo of Senator Joseph Lieberman.

Related Topics:
1998 - Louis Farrakhan - Anti-Semitic - Jeffrey Goldberg - The Forward - New York Times - Joseph Lieberman

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Wanniski also deserves credit for his foresighted journalism on the non-existence of WMD in Iraq. As early as 1997, Wanniski posted columns on his website alleging that UNSCOM inspectors had never found any WMD in Iraq after November 1991, and had actually found and destroyed all of Iraq's WMD programs with the help of Saddam's regime in the months following Gulf War I. Wanniski's efforts to publicize this issue were untimately unsucessful, however, as U.S. media and intelligence establishments overwhelmingly believed Iraq had extensive weapons programs until after Gulf War II, when U.S. forces were unable to find any credible WMD evidence.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

He became a somewhat controversial figure at the beginning of 2003 when he vocally opposed the impending US war with Iraq. On October 27, 2004, he publicly endorsed the Democratic candidate, John Kerry, over George W. Bush, saying, "Mr. Bush has become an imperialist — one whose decisions as commander-in-chief have made the world a more dangerous place." http://www.wanniski.com/showarticle.asp?articleid=3935

Related Topics:
2003 - US war with Iraq - October 27 - 2004 - Democratic - John Kerry - George W. Bush

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Wanniski held a B.A. in Political Science and an M.S. in Journalism from the University of California, Los Angeles.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~