Bruce Bartlett facts for kids

Bruce Reeves Bartlett (born October 11, 1951) is an American historian and author. He helps us understand history and writes books. He worked as an adviser on domestic policy (rules for inside the country) for President Ronald Reagan. He also worked for the Treasury Department (which handles money for the government) when George H. W. Bush was president. Bruce Bartlett also writes for a blog called Economix, which is part of the New York Times newspaper.

Bartlett has written many books and articles for magazines. In these, he has shared his thoughts on the economic policies of the George W. Bush administration. He believed these policies were very different from traditional conservative ideas.

Early Life and Education

Bruce Bartlett was born on October 11, 1951, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. His parents were Marjorie (Stern) and Frank Bartlett. He went to Rutgers University and earned a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in 1973. This is usually the first degree you get from a university. Later, he went to Georgetown University and earned a Master of Arts (M.A.) degree in 1976. This is a higher degree you can get after your bachelor's.

At university, he studied American diplomatic history. This means he learned about how the United States dealt with other countries throughout history. For his master's degree, he wrote a special paper about the start of the Pearl Harbor attack. This paper was later published as a book called Coverup: The Politics of Pearl Harbor, 1941–1946.

Political Career

In 1976, Bruce Bartlett started working for a U.S. Congressman named Ron Paul. A Congressman is someone elected to represent people in the House of Representatives. However, Ron Paul lost his re-election in November 1976.

In 1977, Bartlett began working for another U.S. Congressman, Jack Kemp. He was a staff economist, which means he helped with money and tax issues. He helped create a tax bill called Kemp-Roth. This bill later became the main idea for President Ronald Reagan's big tax cut in 1981. Bartlett also wrote a book called Reaganomics: Supply-Side Economics in Action in 1981. He also helped edit another book called The Supply-Side Solution.

In 1978, Bartlett worked for Perry Duryea, who was running to be the governor of New York. After Duryea lost, Bartlett went back to Washington, D.C.. He joined the team of a newly elected U.S. Senator named Roger Jepsen. A Senator is someone elected to represent their state in the Senate.

Working for President Reagan

In 1981, Senator Jepsen became the Vice Chairman of the Joint Economic Committee in Congress. This committee looks at economic issues for the country. Bartlett became the deputy director of the committee's staff. In 1983, Jepsen became the chairman, and Bartlett became the executive director. During this time, the committee worked hard to support President Ronald Reagan's economic plans.

In 1984, Bartlett became a vice president at Polyconomics. This was a company that gave advice to businesses about the economy and investments. He left in 1985 to work at The Heritage Foundation. This is a think tank, which is a group that does research and gives ideas on public policy. There, he focused on tax policy (rules about taxes) and was part of the discussions about the Tax Reform Act of 1986.

Working for President George H. W. Bush

In 1987, Bartlett became a senior policy analyst in the White House Office of Policy Development. This office helps the President create new policies. In 1988, he moved to the Treasury Department. He was the deputy assistant secretary for economic policy. He stayed in this role until President George H. W. Bush's time in office ended.

After leaving the government, Bartlett worked briefly at the Cato Institute in 1993. From 1993 to 2005, he worked with the National Center for Policy Analysis. This was another free-market think tank.

Since 1995, he has written a regular newspaper column (an article that appears regularly). He has also written many articles for famous newspapers and magazines. These include The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Fortune magazine, and Commentary magazine.

Personal Life

Bruce Bartlett and his wife, Nancy Christy, live in Great Falls, Virginia. He is a member of the American Economic Association and the Committee for Monetary Research and Education. These are groups for people who study economics and money.

Works

Books

• Bruce R. Bartlett, The Keynesian Revolution Revisited, Committee for Monetary Research and Education, 1977.
• Bruce R. Bartlett, Cover-Up: The Politics of Pearl Harbor, 1941–1946, Arlington House Productions (1978) ISBN: 978-0-87000-423-0
• Bruce R. Bartlett, Reagonomics: Supply-side economics in action, Arlington House (1981) ISBN: 978-0-87000-505-3, Random House Value Publishing (1982) ISBN: 978-0-517-54817-2
• Bruce R. Bartlett and Timothy Roth, The Supply Side Solution, Chatham House (1983) ISBN: 978-0-934540-18-6, Palgrave Macmillan (1984) ISBN: 978-0-333-37364-4
• Bruce R. Bartlett, Impostor: How George W. Bush Bankrupted America and Betrayed the Reagan Legacy, Doubleday (2006) ISBN: 978-0-385-51827-7
• Bruce R. Bartlett, Wrong on Race: The Democratic Party's Buried Past, Palgrave Macmillan (2008) ISBN: 978-0-230-60062-1, Palgrave Macmillan (2009) ISBN: 978-0-230-61099-6
• Bruce R. Bartlett, The New American Economy: The Failure of Reaganomics and a New Way Forward, Palgrave Macmillan (2009) ISBN: 978-0-230-61587-8
• Bruce R. Bartlett, The Benefit and the Burden: Tax Reform – Why We Need It and What It Will Take, Simon & Schuster (2012) ISBN: 978-1-4516-4619-1
• Bruce R. Bartlett, The Truth Matters: A Citizen's Guide to Separating Facts from Lies and Stopping Fake News in Its Tracks, Ten Speed Press (2017) ISBN: 978-0-399-58116-8

Contributor to

• The First Year: A Mandate for Leadership Report, Heritage Foundation, 1982.
• Supply Side Economics, Aletheia Books, 1982.
• Agenda '83: A Mandate for Leadership Report, Heritage Foundation, 1983.
• The Federal Debt: On-Budget, Off-Budget, and Contingent Liabilities: A Staff Study, U.S. G.P.O., 1983.
• The Industrial Policy Debate, Institute for Contemporary Studies, 1984.
• Beyond the Status Quo, Cato Institute, 1985.
• Articles in National Review, Human Events, Conservative Digest, and Modern Age, and to newspapers. Contributing editor of Libertarian Review.