, Columnist
What Martin Feldstein Taught Me
His illustrious career shows the value of taking your ideas seriously.
Martin Feldstein in 2018.
Photographer: Bloomberg/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The economist Martin Feldstein, who died Tuesday, had a well-deserved reputation as a classic conservative, consistently promoting small government, balanced budgets and low taxation. Yet he also had an underappreciated pragmatic streak, advising presidents of both parties and preferring to work within the system.
Feldstein also played a huge role in the careers of hundreds of young economists through the National Bureau of Economic Research, an organization he led for 30 years. I should know: I was one of them.