The Promise of Trickle-Down Economics
Remember trickle-down economics?
The phrase wasn’t coined by Ronald Reagan.
It came from humorist Will Rogers in 1932, mocking the idea that if you gave enough money to the people at the top, prosperity would eventually find its way to everyone else.
Nearly 50 years later, Reagan brought that philosophy back in the form of supply-side economics: lower taxes, reduce regulation, let businesses grow, and the benefits would spread throughout the economy.
Forty-five years later……..
We’re still waiting.
Yes, millions of Americans have a 401(k).
No, that doesn’t mean they live like Wall Street.
A family with a retirement account they won’t touch for another 20 years doesn’t experience a record-breaking stock market the same way someone whose wealth comes from stocks does.
The stock market isn’t the kitchen table.
A record-breaking quarter doesn’t automatically mean a family can afford childcare.
Or groceries.
Or a medical bill.
Or a week off without worrying about the rent.
Somewhere along the way, we started measuring the success of the economy by how wealthy wealthy people become instead of asking a much simpler question:
Are ordinary people actually building better lives?
Because if the promise was that prosperity would trickle down…
How long are we supposed to keep waiting?
Scarlett says no.