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Bruce Bartlett is a former senior fellow with the National Center for Policy Analysis of Dallas, Texas. Before joining the NCPA, he was deputy assistant secretary for economic policy at the U.S. Treasury Department, where he served from September 1988 to January 1993. In 1987 and 1988, Bartlett was a senior policy analyst in the Office of Policy Development at the White House.
From 1985 through 1987, he was a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C.
Between 1976 and 1984, Bartlett held numerous positions on Capitol Hill. In 1976, he served on the staff of Rep. Ron Paul of Texas as a legislative assistant. In 1977, he joined the staff of Rep. Jack Kemp of New York as a special assistant and staff economist. While with Kemp, Bartlett helped draft the famous Kemp-Roth tax bill. Between 1979 and 1980, he worked for Sen. Roger Jepsen of Iowa as chief legislative assistant. In 1981, Bartlett joined the staff of the Joint Economic Committee of Congress as deputy director, becoming executive director in 1983. Bartlett is a prolific author, having published over 900 articles in national publications, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post, as well as many prominent magazines such as Fortune. In 1996, one of his columns inspired Bob Dole's 15 percent tax reduction plan.
Bartlett has also written for important academic journals and published four books, including Reaganomics: Supply-Side Economics in Action, published in 1981.
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Bruce Bartlett (Jul 10, 2007)
About 12 years ago, I got a call from Tom Bray, then editorial page editor of the Detroit News. I had known him since the early 1980s, when he was an editorial page editor of... more
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Bruce Bartlett (Jul 03, 2007)
One of the things that surprises me so far in the race for the White House is that none of the Republicans is positioning himself clearly as the anti-Bush. I think there is a... more
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Bruce Bartlett (Jun 27, 2007)
Many people are worried about global warming today. They fear that the polar ice caps will melt, raising sea levels and creating environmental chaos. Such concerns are not... more
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Bruce Bartlett (Jun 19, 2007)
Back during World War II, the Allies were successful in largely cutting off Germany’s oil supply. To maintain their war effort, the Germans figured out how to make... more
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Bruce Bartlett (Jun 13, 2007)
The immigration bill may be dead for now, but the political forces behind it have not gone away. Those will continue to impact both major political parties for many years to... more
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Bruce Bartlett (Jun 06, 2007)
One of the things that bothers me about the immigration bill is the view held in the White House and Congress that “something” must be done; the option of doing nothing is... more
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Bruce Bartlett (May 29, 2007)
As some readers of this column may know, the first "real" job I ever had was working for Congressman Ron Paul back in 1976. I went to visit him a few months ago and was... more
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Bruce Bartlett (May 22, 2007)
As someone who has been highly critical of George W. Bush’s repeated violations of conservative principles for some years, last week brought some vindication. His... more
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Bruce Bartlett (May 15, 2007)
It now seems almost certain that Paul Wolfowitz will leave the presidency of the World Bank. It’s only a matter of negotiating the terms of his resignation.
For those who... more
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Bruce Bartlett (May 08, 2007)
I hadn’t planned on writing another column about Hillary Clinton, but the one I wrote last week has been so widely misunderstood that I feel compelled to do so.
... more
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Bruce Bartlett (May 01, 2007)
As each day passes, it becomes increasingly clear that the Democrats will win the White House next year. It’s not quite 1932, but it’s getting close to a sure thing. ... more
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Bruce Bartlett (Apr 25, 2007)
As is the case every year, the deadline for paying one’s federal income taxes on April 15 brought forth many news features on the burden of taxation. This year was no... more
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Bruce Bartlett (Apr 17, 2007)
On April 6, I had an article in The New York Times arguing the term "supply-side economics" (SSE) had outlived its usefulness. I wasn't criticizing SSE. On the contrary, I... more
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Bruce Bartlett (Apr 10, 2007)
Just in time for tax filing season, the Tax Foundation and Congress's Joint Committee on Taxation have compiled some useful facts about the federal tax system. Following are... more
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Bruce Bartlett (Apr 03, 2007)
I recently made a life-changing decision, which, to those under the age of 30, will probably sound ridiculous. I finally decided that I trust the Internet enough to stop... more
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Bruce Bartlett (Mar 28, 2007)
One of the reasons why I wish columnist Ann Coulter hadn’t used the F-word in a recent speech—the one that is a derogatory term for being gay—is because it gave liberals yet... more
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Bruce Bartlett (Mar 21, 2007)
George W. Bush and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales are taking a lot of heat from Democrats lately for allegedly discharging some U.S. attorneys for political reasons. Of... more
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Bruce Bartlett (Mar 13, 2007)
For most of my lifetime, criticism of media bias was largely confined to those on the right side of the political spectrum. When I first moved to Washington in the... more
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Bruce Bartlett (Mar 13, 2007)
For most of my lifetime, criticism of media bias was largely confined to those on the right side of the political spectrum. When I first moved to Washington in the mid-1970s,... more
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Bruce Bartlett (Mar 06, 2007)
A few months ago, I caused a bit of a stir by suggesting that the best way for libertarian ideas to advance is by destroying the Libertarian Party. Since it cannot win, due... more
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Bruce Bartlett (Feb 27, 2007)
Although we are two years away from the first ballot being cast in the 2008 presidential election and don't even know who the candidates will be, we already know a great deal... more
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Bruce Bartlett (Feb 20, 2007)
It is becoming increasingly clear that the Republican Party has a huge problem going into 2008. Usually, it has a clear frontrunner going into the process who is broadly... more
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Bruce Bartlett (Feb 13, 2007)
According to press reports, Democrats in Congress are planning a major effort to reduce the so-called tax gap. This consists of money owed to the federal government but... more
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Bruce Bartlett (Feb 07, 2007)
Last week, President Bush took some long overdue action to constrain the growing burden of federal regulation on the economy. Predictably, Democrats howl that Republicans... more