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maxrandb

(15,351 posts)
Tue Apr 25, 2023, 02:21 PM Apr 2023

President Biden is, brick-by-brick, dismantling the RAY-gun "trickle-down" bullshit

If he were 100, that alone would be enough to vote in such massive numbers, he wins 40 states.

Anyone born in this country after 1988 has less opportunity than their parents did,. In everything from economic security, education, civil rights, personal safety, pursuit of the Americans Dream, wages, pensions, medical benefits, transportation, infrastructure, environmental safety, those born after the RAY-gun "revolution" are WORSE OFF THAN THEIR PARENTS

It's not even close. In fact, it's so fucking obvious, there should be massive protests closing down every state in this country.

Prior to joining the Navy in 1982, I was a full-time stock clerk at a Big Bear Supermarket in Columbus, OH. In 1982, I was making $12.60 an hour, time-and-a-half for overtime, double-time for Sundays, or holidays, and even got 8 hours of pay for my birthday, whether I worked that day, or not. This was a choice job for a high school graduate. It was the type of job that could place you solidly in the middle class. You could buy a home and raise a family with this job. If you spent wisely, you could even afford a summer family vacation.

What I made at that job in 1982, is equivalent to about $92K per year in today's money. The next time you are at Giant Eagle, or Kroger, ask one of their stock clerks if they are making $92K per year.

RAY-gun did a lot of harm. His policies have spent 43 years hollowing out the Middle Class. That hollowing absolutely devastated the children and grandchildren of Americas once robust Middle Class.

But, worse than that, with the help of the Retrumplican Party, he hollowed out our sense of community and shared values. The trickle-down bullshit absolutely destroyed Americas sense of shared sacrifice. Suddenly, is was greed over good, and selfishness over selflessness.

President Biden is working to tear down the disastrous economic and inhuman policies of 43 years of "Fuck you, I got mine".

The young people born after 1988 have never lived in a country that worked to give them a better life. Sure, we made progress under President Clinton and President Obama, but that was always tempered by the fear of Ray-guns 49 state win.

My generation had the GI Bill, fairly affordable college, and even jobs as stock clerks that could put you solidly in the middle class.

Now, an entire party is going all the way to the corrupt Supreme Court to deny them even a measly $10K in student loans relief.

I am Riding with Biden

36 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
President Biden is, brick-by-brick, dismantling the RAY-gun "trickle-down" bullshit (Original Post) maxrandb Apr 2023 OP
"bottom up, middle out" moondust Apr 2023 #1
Posted by Joe on Twitter April 19th... CousinIT Apr 2023 #2
Here's a good illustration (not new) for how trickle-down actually works FakeNoose Apr 2023 #3
EXCELLENT! calimary Apr 2023 #28
Trickledown economics/tax cuts do not work LetMyPeopleVote Apr 2023 #4
THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! calimary Apr 2023 #30
"Greed is good!" Grumpy Old Guy Apr 2023 #5
It used to be, we cared about our neighbors maxrandb Apr 2023 #7
Oh those people who resent student loans getting forgiven, we have become a selfish nation Walleye Apr 2023 #9
Born after 1988? What an arbitrary year to choose. intheflow Apr 2023 #6
You're right, it should be anyone who came of age in the RAY-gun years maxrandb Apr 2023 #29
1988 was my best year financially. It all went downhill from there Walleye Apr 2023 #8
I graduated HS that year AwakeAtLast Apr 2023 #32
Reagan's ideas were essentially twodogsbarking Apr 2023 #10
Also, don't forget about all those giant tomes written by the Heritage Foundation. keep_left Apr 2023 #24
I seem to recall Jack promoting trickle down. twodogsbarking Apr 2023 #25
Oh, yeah, more than pretty much anyone, Kemp was the voodoo economics guy. keep_left Apr 2023 #26
et al it is. twodogsbarking Apr 2023 #27
He tore "trickle down" to pieces! BumRushDaShow Apr 2023 #11
Biden all the way and the fascists can go to hell LymphocyteLover Apr 2023 #12
You and me both, my friend. calimary Apr 2023 #21
Amen LymphocyteLover Apr 2023 #34
Go Joe! orangecrush Apr 2023 #13
My dad raised his family on a single income as a general manager. ffr Apr 2023 #14
I know he's trying to wryter2000 Apr 2023 #15
One of the best posts I've seen on DU in 20 years. BComplex Apr 2023 #16
Yes yes! mrsadm Apr 2023 #23
Totally! calimary Apr 2023 #31
Excellent post! The ReTrumplicans have even succeeded in making millions of Americans suspicious LaMouffette Apr 2023 #17
superb no-bullshit redux!👍 bringthePaine Apr 2023 #18
Would love to see Robert Reich KS Toronado Apr 2023 #19
I always had the feeling that trickle down was kind of yellow and salty. patphil Apr 2023 #20
Great rant Picaro Apr 2023 #22
K&R Blue Owl Apr 2023 #33
Yes! nt greblach Apr 2023 #35
If we could more effectively communicate what it is and its impact, elections wouldn't be so close. JudyM Apr 2023 #36

moondust

(20,006 posts)
1. "bottom up, middle out"
Tue Apr 25, 2023, 02:41 PM
Apr 2023
Jennifer Rubin Opinion: Biden is succeeding in building the economy from ‘bottom up, middle out’

Pretty much the opposite of Raygun's "trickle down" BS that was designed to help the rich (white guys) get richer--leading to predatory capitalism, widespread corruption, and massive inequality.

Possibly the most absurd thing I've ever heard of:

Tucker Carlson Made As Much As $20 Million A Year At Fox News

FakeNoose

(32,748 posts)
3. Here's a good illustration (not new) for how trickle-down actually works
Tue Apr 25, 2023, 03:01 PM
Apr 2023

Last edited Tue Apr 25, 2023, 06:53 PM - Edit history (1)



calimary

(81,466 posts)
28. EXCELLENT!
Tue Apr 25, 2023, 05:29 PM
Apr 2023

Visual cues are best. That’s what gets through, and sticks. Lots of words - people get lost and many don’t want to have to work that hard (reading through a bunch of copy) when ONE shrewd image is a quick hit, and drives the message home in be glance.

LetMyPeopleVote

(145,554 posts)
4. Trickledown economics/tax cuts do not work
Tue Apr 25, 2023, 03:13 PM
Apr 2023

There is no Tax-Cut Fairy and trickle-down economics do not work in the real world. Part of the Inflation Reduction Act is the 15% minimum tax on the rich. If the GOP gets control of the House or the Senate, there will be attempts to use the debt ceiling to try to undo the 15% minimum tax and adopt some trickle-down economics

There is no Tax Cut Fairy and tax cuts for the rich only make the rich richer.


https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/12/23/tax-cuts-rich-trickle-down/

But, just as many economists predicted, slashing individual, corporate and estate tax rates was mostly a windfall for big corporations and wealthy Americans. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act did not pay for itself, failed to stimulate long-term growth and did not lead to sustained business investments.

According to one of the most comprehensive studies to date on tax cuts for the rich, this should come as no surprise. A London School of Economics report by David Hope and Julian Limberg examined five decades of tax cuts in 18 wealthy nations and found they consistently benefited the wealthy but had no meaningful effect on unemployment or economic growth........

First, the tax cuts succeeded at putting more money in the pockets of the rich. The share of national income flowing to the top 1 percent increased by about 0.8 percentage points. (For comparison, in the United States the bottom 10 percent of earners capture only 1.8 percent of the country’s income).

But they had no effect on economic growth or employment. Though those quantities fluctuated slightly after the major tax cuts that were studied, the effect was statistically indistinguishable from zero. The “rocket fuel” so often promised by supporters of these tax cuts? It fizzles out time and time again.

“In the last decade, especially with the pioneering work of Thomas Piketty and his co-authors, there has been a growing consensus that tax cuts for the rich lead to higher income inequality,” Hope and Limberg said. Piketty, a French economist, wrote “Capital in the Twenty-First Century,” a book on the growth of inequality in rich nations......

Given the historically low tax burdens on the wealthy in the United States, their ability to pay for higher taxes has probably never been better.

Grumpy Old Guy

(3,172 posts)
5. "Greed is good!"
Tue Apr 25, 2023, 03:17 PM
Apr 2023

Gordon Gecko in "Wall Street."

They've convinced one third of the population that greed is good and caring about people is naive.

maxrandb

(15,351 posts)
7. It used to be, we cared about our neighbors
Tue Apr 25, 2023, 03:23 PM
Apr 2023

Of not out of some altruistic reason, then at least because of the values of our homes.

You can say; "Eff you, I get mine", but when your neighbors have their homes foreclosed, or can't afford a new roof, or basic maintenance, it affects the values of all homes in the neighborhood.

Retrumplicans have worked for years to convince folks to only look out for themselves.

intheflow

(28,501 posts)
6. Born after 1988? What an arbitrary year to choose.
Tue Apr 25, 2023, 03:23 PM
Apr 2023

Those of use who came of age in the '80s have also been screwed over our lives. We never had a chance to live as prosperous adults after he was elected, full-stop. I was born in 1964, which means I should be living some fab Boomer life. But because of the way life unfolds, I was very late entering the workforce, a good four years after my age cohorts. By that time, opportunity was shriveling fast and if you didn't have a foot in the door, it was near impossible to do so after Raygun's reign.

maxrandb

(15,351 posts)
29. You're right, it should be anyone who came of age in the RAY-gun years
Tue Apr 25, 2023, 05:53 PM
Apr 2023

That supermarket chain I mentioned? Taken over by a corporation and run into the ground.

They closed, or sold all their stores, and gave employees pennies on the dollar for their pensions.

I took am 80% pay cut to join the Navy, but if I had stayed there, I would have been in my 30s and unemployed. Walmart probably would have hired me at $7.50 an hour

AwakeAtLast

(14,133 posts)
32. I graduated HS that year
Wed Apr 26, 2023, 01:02 AM
Apr 2023

It's taken me 35 years to be somewhat comfortable. One bad thing could make it all disappear.

twodogsbarking

(9,805 posts)
10. Reagan's ideas were essentially
Tue Apr 25, 2023, 03:29 PM
Apr 2023

proposed in the late 1970s by New York Congressman Jack Kemp, whose initial fame came from his years quarterbacking teams in the National Football League, Canadian Football League, and especially the American Football League.

keep_left

(1,792 posts)
24. Also, don't forget about all those giant tomes written by the Heritage Foundation.
Tue Apr 25, 2023, 05:14 PM
Apr 2023
Mandate for Leadership was a series of books (actually, multiple series of books over four decades) which advocated for the "Reagan Revolution". Some of the worst ideas of the Reagan years (e.g. voodoo economics, Central America policy) came directly from MFL.

To be fair, I do recall Jack Kemp being present at a lot of Heritage Foundation events, and I'm sure he spoke on behalf of a lot of their ideas.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandate_for_Leadership

keep_left

(1,792 posts)
26. Oh, yeah, more than pretty much anyone, Kemp was the voodoo economics guy.
Tue Apr 25, 2023, 05:27 PM
Apr 2023

And even after a lot of those ideas were shown to be rather...questionable, Kemp (et al) just kept at it. "Enterprise zones" in particular often ended up kind of like those "Bridge to Nowhere" projects; at other times, they were mired in corruption. A lot of right-wing governors (e.g. Tim Pawlenty of MN) borrowed those ideas and ended up with some real face-plant moments when they didn't work out nearly as well as planned.

BumRushDaShow

(129,447 posts)
11. He tore "trickle down" to pieces!
Tue Apr 25, 2023, 03:43 PM
Apr 2023


Remember that Poppy called it?



Even David Stockman admitted (in kinder words) that his own theory was bullshit -

calimary

(81,466 posts)
21. You and me both, my friend.
Tue Apr 25, 2023, 04:52 PM
Apr 2023

I want them knocked down so low it’ll take them decades even just to get up to kneeling position.

ffr

(22,671 posts)
14. My dad raised his family on a single income as a general manager.
Tue Apr 25, 2023, 04:03 PM
Apr 2023

He wasn't that special. A fairly typical man with a fairly typical position, with fairly typical pay.

His income in today's dollars would be over $250,000/yr. I don't make half that! The republicans and their enablers have ruined the lives of the middle class in this country. It's shameful!!!

wryter2000

(46,081 posts)
15. I know he's trying to
Tue Apr 25, 2023, 04:07 PM
Apr 2023

And he has accomplished a lot in the face of incredible opposition (some from two certain Senators who are supposedly Dems).

He's the first politician in power I've heard say that trickle down doesn't work.

LaMouffette

(2,039 posts)
17. Excellent post! The ReTrumplicans have even succeeded in making millions of Americans suspicious
Tue Apr 25, 2023, 04:28 PM
Apr 2023

of government actions that could actually HELP the middle class and lower class, such as taxing the super-wealthy and implementing universal health care. Those on the right have been trained to respond with: "That's wealth redistribution! That's socialism!!!"

KS Toronado

(17,317 posts)
19. Would love to see Robert Reich
Tue Apr 25, 2023, 04:31 PM
Apr 2023

do a Sunday prime time special on trickle down economics and how it never works. And how it's always
the Retrumplican party screwing working people with their tax cuts for the rich. Convincing people it
doesn't work can't be done in just a few sentences.

patphil

(6,207 posts)
20. I always had the feeling that trickle down was kind of yellow and salty.
Tue Apr 25, 2023, 04:46 PM
Apr 2023

Urine bad company if you accept RR's bullshit about feeding the economy from the top down.
The lower and middle classes got hosed on, while they watched the rich get richer.

JudyM

(29,274 posts)
36. If we could more effectively communicate what it is and its impact, elections wouldn't be so close.
Wed Apr 26, 2023, 01:16 PM
Apr 2023
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