In his syndicated column, William F. Buckley pays tribute today to Alan Reynolds, the Cato Institute economist who has defended free markets for nearly four decades.

Reynolds has published hundreds of articles in newspapers and magazines, notably in The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Reason, National Review,and in national syndication. His devotion to facts instead of ideology has made him a huge thorn in the statists’ side during his entire career.

He is also an immensely cheerful and personable gentleman. (And he once played guitar in rock star Little Richard’s band. How many economists have done that?)

Recently Reynolds wrote his first full-length book, Income and Wealth, in which, in his usual way, he demolishes the great statist myths of our time. As Buckey notes:

"Income and Wealth" (published by Greenwood Press) is stunning in its revelations and its deflations of popular Democratic superstitions. On page 203, for example, Reynolds lists the most popular superstitions of the derogating class, including the assertions that 80 percent to 90 percent of U.S. households have experienced no increase in real income for 25 years, and that only the top 1 percent to 10 percent have received any significant benefits from the growth of productivity.

"Not one of those statements is even remotely close to being true," Reynolds writes. "It is difficult to imagine how so many of the nation’s leading economic journalists and economists claim to believe not just one or two of these incredible ideas, but the entire package."

Buckley is absolutely correct to refer to Reynolds as "an economist of acute precision" and pay homage to him. Later this afternoon I will post my review of Alan Reynolds’s book, Income and Wealth.