Yes, Virginia, there was a silver-haired man in Washington who seemed a bit like Santa. He wanted massive tax cuts for everyone, predicting individuals and corporations would do good things if given more control of their money.

Critics on the right and left compared the man’s economic optimism to belief in Santa Claus and his magic gift bag.

The man told conservative politicians to be kinder, urging them to avoid aggressive government austerity measures that might hurt the poor. Major tax cuts, he said, would fuel economic growth adequate to fund generous social programs. Growth, if sufficiently robust and sustainable, could maintain and reduce debt.

Jack Kemp, remembered as the Republican Party’s “bleeding heart conservative,” died in 2009 at age 73.

Kemp had been a star quarterback in the 1960s, winning the American Football League’s Most Valuable Player award in 1965. He worked as an assistant to California Gov. Ronald Reagan during the off-season in the late ’60s. Kemp convinced the former Democrat and future president how tax cuts could fuel “supply side” growth. He promised it would help the rich, poor and middle class.

Reagan took over the White House during a time of high inflation and unemployment, gas shortages and a record-high misery index of 21.98. He took Kemp’s advice and slashed taxes. Nearly two full decades of economic growth ensued, accompanied by rising employment, better wages, more stable energy supplies, lower interest rates, a rising stock market, and reduced inflation. The Misery Index dropped to 7.7 by December 1986.

Kemp’s best-known protégé was Paul Ryan, a Wisconsin Republican who went on to become speaker of the House and a chief architect of the tax cuts President Donald Trump signed into law Friday.

The Washington Post documented in 2012 how Kemp often warned Ryan to believe in economic growth and avoid the Republican push to slash programs for people who need assistance.

“He would chide Paul that while it was important to remember the spending side, it was more important to remember the growth side,” said Bill Dal Col, former president of Empower America, the policy institute at which Ryan worked as Kemp’s aide in the 1990s.

Heading into Christmas, Ryan, Trump and other tax reform advocates promise Americans a host of gifts from one of history’s largest fell-swoop tax cuts. They talk of more jobs, better jobs, higher wages, and less withholding from paychecks. Never saying “trickle down,” they dream of an economic tsunami that will flood the economy with indiscriminate benefits.

We have no crystal ball and will wait with cautious optimism to see whether this pans out. Even objective critics fear unintended consequences. Those could include problems associated with too much growth, too fast, such as rising interest rates and inflation.

The immediate results have been exactly what Kemp talked about whenever he wasn’t throwing a football. A few examples:

– Boeing said because of tax cuts it would give $1,000 holiday bonuses to 200,000 unionized employees, and increase capital expenditures by $1 billion.

– AT&T announce tax cut bonuses of $1,000 to 200,000 employees.

– Wells Fargo announced an immediate increase in the company’s minimum wage to $15 an hour and committed to $400 million in additional donations to nonprofits.

– Comcast announced immediate $1,000 bonuses, to nonexecutive employees, and $50 billion in additional infrastructure improvements over the next five years.

– Fifth Third Bancorp announced a raise in its lowest wages, and a broad-based employee bonus payout.

CNBC interviewed an array of business leaders and concluded we are in for a widespread phenomenon of corporations immediately spending more on employees and investing to create jobs to increase production.

“Expect a stampede of companies handing out bonuses, raising pay, spending on capital projects and giving to charities, with the windfall from the massive corporate tax cuts passed Wednesday,” said the lead of a CNBC’s story.

“This is a bunch of business leaders saying we can use this tax benefit to grow our company, keep our loyal employees and assist the community,” said Dick Bove, banking analyst at Vertical Group, as quoted by CNBC.

On Christmas Eve, let’s enjoy this newfound optimism and hope it persists. Maybe that “bleeding heart conservative” is smiling from a better place, with anticipation of results we will see in the months and years ahead.