Advocating private ownership of capital and denouncing excessive taxes on income, former secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) lack Kemp addressed a crowd of about 300 at an Institute of Politics (IOP) sponsored event last night.

"I'd like to make a case tonight for a universal idea." Kemp said in the approximately hour-long speech. "It is universal not because it appeals to everyone, but because it will work everywhere."

Capital is vital in creating wealth, whether one wants to start a lemonade stand or run a whole corporation, Kemp said. Thus it is puzzling that capital has been a pejorative term in debates.

"I'm talking tonight about the open system based on the premise that there are no limits to the creation of wealth," Kemp added. "There is no shortage in wealth or resources. There's surplus of government regulation."

Kemp said that the Malthusian fears of limited resources are unfounded and that they have wrongly predicted the preemption of supplies in the 1920s and 1970s. These fears, Kemp added, have led to excessive government legislation that inadvertently inhibited the growth of the economy.

Today's problem is that America is taxing success and entrepreneurial ability in terms of income and capital gains tax while it is subsidizing debt, idleness and mediocrity in welfare, Kemp said.

"If a mother gets a job and goes to work, the government taxes her income while her welfare gets taken away and she gets slammed," said Kemp. "And this country is one of ownership?"

"But the pie can get bigger and there can be more chairs at the table and we can do so much more for the poor than when our wealth is shrinking," Kemp said.

Kemp is currently the chair of a commission under House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) and Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole (R-Kan.) established to substantially change the tax code for the twenty-first century.

Kemp said that he would strive to reform the code to "tax income only once."

"Imagine a single tax rate instead of this whole tax code. This rate will be closer to 20 percent than the current 50 percent," Kemp said.

"To beg [for money] in D.C., you don't need a license, but to start a business, they make you jump through all these hoops," Kemp said, pointing out the contradictions in current law. "Why don't we make it just as easy to start a business as we make it to beg?"

Kemp said that currently, the government taxes income, property, capital gains and dividends, which is excessive. Furthermore, this practice discourages entrepreneurial ability--the key in raising the standard of living for everyone.

Tax reform and other amendments in public education, welfare and the monetary system will help achieve these goals, according to Kemp.

"He is a very dynamic speaker," said Devarati Ghosh '99. "I liked the way he worked the crowd rather than staying behind the podium. He was not afraid to make firm statements or cater to public opinion. That's why it's a disappointment that he's not running [for president] this year."

Kemp, who is currently the co-director of Empower America, was the secretary of HUD from 1989 to 1993 and a member of the U.S. House of Representatives (R.N.Y.) from 1971 to 1989.

"It's exciting to think about these possibilities to tap and unleash the talent in this country," Kemp said. "And I'm very optimistic. After all, how can you play quarterback in the NFL for thirteen years and be a pessimist?"

Kemp's lecture, entitled "America on the Eve of the 21st Century," was part of the Gustav Pollack Lecture series. The series is designed to "be given from time to time by a qualified person" to stimulate interest in government