The world known economist Arthur Laffer said that Turkey's economy is better than the United States economy, expressing that he was very optimistic about Turkey.
In an email to the daily Yeni Şafak, Laffer, who is lauded as the father of supply-side economics, said that Turkey was the biggest surprise he had not faced since a long time.
“Sincerely, Turkey is the biggest surprise I've had in a long time," economist Laffer said.
He compared the American economy to the Turkish economy in many contexts, showing that Turkey is performing much better than the U.S.
“Turkey reduced its corporate income tax down to 20 percent, while the figure in the US is 35 percent, the highest among member states of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)," he said.
Laffer continued: “The highest rate of income tax in Turkey is 35 percent, while it surpassed 50 percent in some U.S. states. The U.S. is observing nationalistic economy in everywhere with an overly regulatory stance while Turkey is privatizing state enterprises. Turkish Airlines is one of the best example of [Turkish privatization]."
He stated that Turkish Airlines has been showing a performance beyond expectations, since it was handed over to a private authority from the state management.
But, he said, the U.S. authority had taken steps for nationalizing the health institutions giving terrible results.
“Turkey reduced the ratio of its national debt more than 50 percent in the past 10 years, while the US had extremely increased its national debt within the same time frame," Laffer said.
“Turkey's economy is one of the best performing economies in the world, while America is passing through the worst recovery process," he said, reiterating his earlier statement that Americans should trade President Barack Obama for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
In an earlier remark, Laffer said at a seminar in Turkey that, "I am very optimistic about Turkey. In the short term, however, I would like to propose a deal. I would trade Obama for Erdoğan. One of my friends said, 'If you can just switch the presidents, it would be great.'"
"Turkey's economy is doing extraordinarily well compared to the rest of the world. If you want to see a bad economy, come to the U.S., and see how we ruined the economy," the American economic expert said.
