The Tea Party Movement, Its Economic Platform, and History

The Tea Party movement is a populist branch of conservative Republicans. It opposes government spending, taxation, and regulation. Tea Party members believe that the federal government uses these measures to infringe on Americans' personal liberties as outlined in the Constitution.

Tea Party Members

More than a third or 37% of Tea Party members are college graduates. Almost 40% are evangelical Christians. Many of them are small business people who must stay profitable despite narrow margins. They see taxes, regulations, and Obamacare as direct threats to their livelihood. 

Although they consider themselves full members of the Republican Party, they want to move it back to a more pure form of conservatism. They feel threatened by the new demographics in America. This was especially symbolized by President Barack Obama's election. They sense they are becoming a minority regarding their religion, values, and way of life.

This belief makes many Tea Party members anti-immigration. For that reason, they support President Donald Trump's immigration policies. This includes the completion of the border wall with Mexico. They also want to deport immigrants who arrived in the United States as children who are currently protected under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

The Tea Party's Economic Platform

The Tea Party's economic platform follows its belief that less government is good, and free markets are the best generator of jobs and economic growth.

Here are the Tea Party's three primary economic policies.

Eliminate Deficit Spending and the National Debt

During President Obama's term, the Tea Party was serious about reducing government spending. They have not opposed government spending during the Trump administration.

They argued that out-of-control government spending brings the government into Americans' lives. It also devalues the dollar and invites inflation. Tea Party members quoted Alexander Hamilton, who said, “As on the one hand, the necessity for borrowing in particular emergencies cannot be doubted, so on the other, it is equally evident that to be able to borrow upon good terms, it is essential that the credit of a nation should be well established.”

The Party shut down the government in 2013 and almost refused to raise the debt ceiling because it wanted to defund Obamacare. The Tea Party included cuts to Medicare, Social Security, and Medicaid as part of the conversation. 

The Party also risked government shut-downs in 2011. It refused to approve the Fiscal Year 2011 Budget in April until $80 billion was cut, later accepting around $38 billion. But a Congressional Budget Office report said that spending would only decline by $352 million.

The Tea Party delayed voting to raise the debt ceiling in August 2011 until $1.2 trillion was cut from spending over the next 10 years in the Budget Control Act of 2011. As a result of a near default on the debt, the S&P lowered the U.S. debt rating from AAA to AA+.

Eliminate Excessive Taxation

The Party opposed Obama's American Jobs Act in 2011. He planned to fund it through tax increases to those making more than $200,000, and he wanted to close tax loopholes for oil companies and billionaires. Tea Party members argued that the top 10% of earners pay almost 70% of taxes, while the bottom 50% pay almost nothing.

Protect Free Markets

There is some debate on what this means to various Tea Party members. Some, such as Americans for Prosperity, are for free trade agreements, while others believe these agreements send jobs overseas.

The Theory Behind Tea Party Policies

The Tea Party reflects the values of Andrew Jackson: self-reliance, individualism, loyalty, and courage. Followers are suspicious of federal power, which is why they're such avid supporters of the Second Amendment. They also oppose federal taxes and regulations that they feel hurt small businesses and the entrepreneurial spirit that built America, making them anti-elitist. They believe ordinary people are wiser than the experts and that seemingly complicated problems have simple solutions.

Most Tea Party members emulate the accomplishments of Reagan's presidency and Reaganomics. Both are based on supply-side economics, which states that lower taxes will stimulate enough demand to replace any lost tax revenues. The Laffer Curve demonstrates precisely at which point lower taxes will result in higher tax revenues, but Laffer warned that it all depends on how high taxes are. Laffer's "Prohibitive Zone" starts when the tax rate is 50%. Cutting taxes could slow economic growth by increasing debt if the rate is lower.

Tea Party History

The Tea Party took its name from the 1773 protests in Boston, when colonists dumped tea into the harbor. They protested "taxation without representation," which the British government imposed on the colonies.

The modern-day Tea Party movement started in 2009. It opposed Obama's economic stimulus package, which passed largely without Republican support. Many groups throughout the country held protests against Democrats' planned tax increases on April 15, 2009. The "Tea Party Express" commemorated the 9/11 attacks with protest tours from August 28 to September 12, 2009, then again from October 28 to November 12, 2009.

How the Party Came to Power

The Tea Party swept into power during the mid-term elections in 2010 as Republicans gained 60 seats in the House of Representatives. That created a Republican majority and a Republican Speaker of the House, John Boehner. Although Republicans won an additional six seats in the Senate, they didn't capture the majority.

This election increased the Republican party's power enough to negotiate the extension of the Bush tax cuts for two more years. This meant an extension in tax cuts to those earning $200,000 or more. Tea Party members say these are primarily small business owners.

Tea Party Proponents

Some say the Tea Party was started by David H. Koch, head of the conservative "Americans for Prosperity," in coordination with another conservative group, FreedomWorks. Fox TV commentator and author Glenn Beck contributed the "9 principles and 12 values" of the Tea Party in his "9/12 Project." Fox News is also a supporter of Tea Party coverage. The National Tea Party Movement, co-founded by former White House speechwriter and Heritage Foundation policy analyst Michael Johns, is another important proponent.