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Arthur B. Laffer, the economist behind Reaganomics and founder of the Laffer curve, in an exclusive interview with finews.com said tax cuts will generate so much extra income for the U.S. government that it will be enough to pay for the infrastructure program promised by President Donald Trump.

Arthur Laffer, you advised both President Ronald Reagan and President Donald Trump. What are the main differences between these two men?

Ronald Reagan was always very understated, very aware of his persona. He was an amazingly pleasant person. Always the elegant gentleman, the Hollywood type. Everyone loved being with Reagan.

Donald Trump can say things that Reagan never did. But see, in the environment that Trump grew up in, he was raised to have an enormous amount of self-confidence. I grew up in the same environment – Presbyterian of Scottish, Irish and German descent. You see how many people hate him. Does it look like it bothers him? Not at all. That trait comes from an enormously supportive childhood. You know these people are incorrect. That’s the trait about Donald Trump I love. He is able to stand up to criticism and continue down his path. Reagan was able to do that too, but he felt the criticism from the other side. Trump doesn’t.

Where’s your place in the current administration?

I never work for either Reagan or Trump. There were a number of times when President Reagan was furious with me, but he couldn’t fire me. Why? Because I didn’t work for him. Socially, I had known him forever, ever since the 1960s. My godfather had been his best friend. That’s how I got close to Reagan long before he became president.

«Privately, Donald Trump is spectacular, a gentleman and very nice»

What was your role with Reagan and what is it with Trump?

I want to be helpful to them, but therefore you’ve got to remain independent. You need to be able to say if you don’t like something even if it is not to their liking. Once you become an employee, he’s your boss and you have to do what he says. So for my entire life, I never took a check from any of them. Once you take a check, it’s over.

You always wanted to be independent?