Committee to Unleash Prosperity

Founders : Larry Kudlow, Steve Moore, Art Laffer, Steve Forbes Executive Director : Alexandra Preate NEW YORK, July 29, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Economists Steve Forbes, Larry Kudlow, Dr. Arthur B. Laffer, and Steve Moore have launched the Committee to Unleash Prosperity. This group aims to end America's growth slump and restore faith in the American Dream. The Committee to Unleash Prosperity was founded to combat America's "growth gap" by promoting an agenda that will revitalize America's economy. In the past decade and a half, under both Republican and Democratic presidents, U.S. economic growth has diminished to roughly 2% annually—a significant decrease from its Post-World War II average of 3.5%. This subpar growth rate has come at tremendous cost to American families, household incomes, employment opportunities, investment, and poverty levels. Above all, the lack of growth has led some to doubt the attainability of the American Dream and to wonder if our current economic climate is the new norm. The Committee to Unleash Prosperity is working to change this. In pursuit of rapid growth, the Committee promotes the following six economic principles: 1) A broad-based, low rate, flat tax 2) Limited government spending 3) Decreased regulation 4) Sound money 5) Free trade 6) Rule of constitutional law Thus far, the Committee has hosted several Presidential candidates to discuss their economic platforms including Governor Scott Walker, Governor Bobby Jindal, Governor John Kasich, Governor Mike Huckabee, Senator Ted Cruz, Senator Lindsey Graham, and Carly Fiorina. The Committee has invited other Republican and Democrat presidential candidates to attend future events. Today, the Committee will host a luncheon with former Texas Governor Rick Perry to discuss how to restore economic growth and opportunity for all Americans. The event is sponsored by Margo and John Catsimatidis. Prominent thought leaders have joined the four founders in their mission: David L. Bahnsen Richard Breeden Travis H. Brown Andrea Catsimatidis John Catsimatidis, Sr. John Catsimatidis, Jr. Margo Catsimatidis Veronique de Rugy Steve Elieff Dr. Edwin Feulner, Jr. Harold Hamm Kevin A. Hassett Roger Hertog James Kemp Lewis E. Lehrman Adele Malpass David Malpass Betsy McCaughey Dan Mitchell Georgette Mosbacher David Mullins Mary Ann Mullins Deroy Murdock Liz Peek Alexandra V. Preate Andrew F. Puzder Avik Roy Rex Sinquefield David Webb The Executive Director is political strategist Jon Decker. The Committee to Unleash Prosperity looks forward to promoting its optimistic vision for America's economic future. STEVE FORBES Steve Forbes is Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of Forbes Media. In both 1996 and 2000, Mr. Forbes campaigned vigorously for the Republican nomination for the Presidency. Key to his platform were a flat tax, medical savings accounts, a new Social Security system for working Americans, parental choice of schools for their children, term limits, and a strong national defense. LARRY KUDLOW Larry Kudlow is CNBC's Senior Contributor. He was previously host of CNBC's primetime "The Kudlow Report." He is also the host of "The Larry Kudlow Show," which broadcasts each Saturday from 10:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. on WABC Radio and is syndicated nationally by Cumulus Media. Kudlow is the author of "American Abundance: The New Economic and Moral Prosperity," published by Forbes in January 1998. He served on the transition committees for Reagan-Bush in 1980 and Bush-Cheney in 2000. During President Reagan's first term, Kudlow was the associate director for economics and planning, Office of Management and Budget, Executive Office of the President, where he was engaged in the development of the administration's economic and budget policy. He was formerly chief economist and senior managing director of Bear Stearns & Company. Kudlow started his professional career at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York where he worked in open-market operations and bank supervision. He is co-authoring a forthcoming book about President John F. Kennedy's tax cuts. DR. ARTHUR B. LAFFER Dr. Arthur B. Laffer is founder and chairman of Laffer Associates and was a member of President Reagan's Economic Policy Advisory Board for both of his two terms. Dr. Laffer also advised Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher on fiscal policy in the U.K. during the 1980s. He has been a faculty member at the University of Chicago, University of Southern California, and Pepperdine University. Dr. Laffer received a B.A. in economics from Yale University in 1963. He received a MBA and a Ph.D. in economics from Stanford University in 1965 and 1972 respectively. STEVE MOORE Stephen Moore, who formerly wrote on the economy and public policy for The Wall Street Journal, is the Distinguished Visiting Fellow, Project for Economic Growth, at The Heritage Foundation. Moore, who also was a member of The Journal's editorial board, returned to Heritage in January 2014—about 25 years after his tenure as the leading conservative think tank's Grover M. Hermann Fellow in Budgetary Affairs from 1984 to 1987. He was a senior economist under Dick Armey's Joint Economic Committee, and he played a large role in the creation of the FairTax proposal. MARGO AND JOHN CATSIMATIDIS John Catsimatidis is the Chairman and CEO of the Red Apple Group, a Fortune 500 company with annual revenues in excess of $5 billion. The Red Apple Group is a diverse holding company comprised of an energy sector which includes oil refineries, bio-diesel plants, and extensive New York area storage facilities with a deep draft tanker facility on the eastern shore of Long Island. The Red Group also carries a real estate portfolio valued at nearly $1 billion. In addition, Red Apple Group has an aviation component which leases corporate aircrafts as well as a major supermarket chain in New York City. Margo Catsimatidis is the President of MCV Advertising and is heavily involved with philanthropy. One of Mrs. Catsimatidis' primary charities is the Hellenic Times Scholarship Fund which has provided college scholarships for the past 25 years. Margo and John are parents of Andrea and John Jr., both graduates of NYU and now work alongside their parents in all facets of their businesses. Margo and John are firm believers in giving back to the community and they have a large portfolio of charitable interests which have a common theme of assisting young people.