Early in his career, Rapping held a
laissez-faire view of a government's role in the economy but grew to believe capitalism needed regulation. He was highly critical of the
supply-side policies of the
Reagan administration, calling it a policy that "transfers money from the poor to the rich." As a consultant and researcher, Rapping worked for the
Rand Corporation, the
Federal Bureau of the Budget, and the U.S. departments of Defense; Justice; Labor; and Transportation. He was with the
Center for Naval Analysis, and Northwestern University's Transportation Center. Shortly before his death, Rapping served as Director of the National Academy of Science's Panel on Technology and Employment. Rapping was Professor of Economics at the
University of Massachusetts Amherst. Before that, he served on the faculty of Graduate School of Industrial Administration,
Carnegie-Mellon University. He also taught at
Brandeis University, University of Notre Dame, the University of Nevada, San Fernando State College, and
UCLA. Rapping obtained his bachelor's degree from UCLA, 1956,
Phi Beta Kappa, Master of Arts, University of Chicago, 1958 and Doctor of Philosophy in Economics, University of Chicago, 1961. == Family ==