U.S. Rep. Jack F. Kemp (R-N.Y.) brought his boundless optimism and unorthodox brand of conservative economics to Harvard yesterday, telling more than 500 at the Business School that business growth will cure the nation's economic woes.

"I get criticized for saying that (capital) growth will cure everything," the Congressman said in his hour-long talk. "It may not cure everything, but it helps."

Kemp, a committed advocate of supply-side economics, outlined a three-point plan to promote such growth, including taxation reform, changes in federal spending, and a reworked Federal Reserve Board policy.

"We don't need a redistribution of wealth," said Kemp, who has been tapped as a potential presidential candidate in 1988. "We need more wealth."

Trickling Down

Kemp emphasized throughout his speech that government spending programs alone cannot provide jobs and raise the standard of living as effectively as a "growing" economy, which would be unhampered by federal intervention.

Federal dollars are not always a measure of the government's concern for the poor, Kemp said. "Compassion is not measured by how many people get food stamps but by how few. We cannot create a desert and give you a glass of water and call that fairness."

Topping Kemp's three-point agenda was a re-evaluation of federal spending priorities. "We must reform the way we spend your money," said Kemp, adding that he supports across-the-board budget cuts.

Although Kemp did not name specific programs that he considered overbudgeted, he called for sharp cuts in subsidies to large corporations and a greater focus on programs that aid the unemployed.

Kemp, who co-authored the Kemp-Roth tax cut of the 1982 fiscal year, added, "Our tax system doesn't do what it should: raise revenue and stimulate the economy." He advocated a lowering of base rates for both corporate and personal income taxes, as well as a simplification of the entire tax structure.

The Kemp-Kasten tax reform bill, of which he is co-author, is currently being considered in the House of Representative.

Throughout his speech, Kemp expressed his confidence in the ability of the economy to remain strong. "I'm incurable optimist," he said. "And if you're looking for bad news you won't get it from me."