I knew there were dire economic changes since Reagan, but this chart blew my mind.

[dixiegrrrrl]

How the hell do we come back from THIS?

[elleng]

1. We don't, without 'revolution.'

[Barack_America]

6. Revolution.

The first word that came to my mind as well.

IMO, Bernie was *perhaps* our last chance to accomplish this without bloodshed, but even that was probably a longshot.

[Ligyron]

18. To me as well.

and to a few others also I should hope.

[politicaljunkie41910]

20. I think it can be done with Education rather than Revolution. As the saying goes, a picture is

worth a thousand words. I have to admit that I have never seen that chart before. Assuming it's correct, it tells a story that even middle and lower class uneducated people can understand. The disparity among the classes cannot be denied when it's staring you in the face like that. Also, the lower and middle class Republicans always stood by their party because they always thought that they could be part of those one percenters one day if they just worked harder and got their break.

Now they can see that fallacy is just that, a pipe dream. And with the Repubs calling for giving those at the top even more tax cuts, while cutting Medical subsidies for those lower and middle income recipients and I think it might help them to finally see the lights; that they will never be part of the one percenters, and they will just sink further and further behind as long as the party of the one percenters is running things in Washington, DC and in their State Houses in their Red States.

[elleng]

22. Repugs have been doing their damnedest to UN-educate the U.S. population,

and its been working; we are STUCK.

[Dustlawyer]

13. Trump and the Republicans, who are trying so hard to give everything in this country to the

corporations, may present an opportunity for a backlash that puts Dems in power in the House, Senate and the WH.

The question is, would we be putting too many corporate Democrats in, or will we demand representatives who represent us instead of Donors?

We need to attack the root cause of most of our problems, money in politics and the propaganda that moves voters to screw themselves and us along with them. Bust up the media, banking, telecom, and the military industrial complex. End the revolving door, Super PACs, and Dark money that have enabled the super wealthy to control our politicians.

Long shot, but better than a revolution!

[elleng]

15. Surely better than revolution, but such a long shot

that I can't imagine such coming from the current Democratic party.

[Dustlawyer]

21. Agreed, but we cannot waste the opportunity by not trying!

[elleng]

23. Right, but I must say I'm getting kind of tired of banging my head against that wall.

[JudyM]

27. Losing Reid for Schumer is looking like a good thing so far. And Bernie focused people on the issues

so much that there's less chance of hiding corporatist strategies now.

[elleng]

28. I wish I saw hope in Bernie focusing on the issues,

as so many do their best to ignore that, and keep bashing him. Schumer's doing pretty well.

[JudyM]

29. The renewed citizen engagement we're seeing, and social media activism, are alive and well. The

key thing we absolutely must do to capitalize on all this is to secure a fair and reliable voting process. This can't happen soon enough, and I'm afraid it won't happen at all, except in dribs and drabs. There's talk, but are the dots being connected?

[Bernardo de La Paz]

19. It will be revolution unless the top 10% can convince the 1% to change course.

This economic info must be publicized.

I've been saying for a few years that wealth & income inequality are becoming the biggest core social problem.

[democratisphere]

36. + a billion trillion zillion

[global1]

2. And How Much More Money Transfer Up After....

the Repugs - repeal and replace ACA & pass Trump's tax plan?

We'll be in even a greater hole.

[Nonhlanhla]

3. The trickle down will start...

...any minute now.

I'm sure of it.

[BigmanPigman]

34. My thoughts too. Yet they still try to con us with that BS theory.

Unfortunately many still buy into it..."a fool and his money".

[HopeAgain]

4. Pitchforks and mobs?

[Tom Rinaldo]

5. Do you have a link to the source that can more easily be shared?

And no, it is not racism alone that has led some, in frustration and/or desperation, to abandon the Democratic Party - when our own leaders appear (fairly or not) to be just as comfortable with Wall Street interests as are establishment Republicans.

[Lochloosa]

8. Here you go

https://psmag.com/economics/trickle-down-economics-is-indeed-a-joke

[mountain grammy]

9. Thank you.

Interesting.. the joke's on us. Haha.

[dixiegrrrrl]

10. It is from a DU post which linked to a long but excellent article.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1016186098

[jack69]

7. When the poor have nothing left to eat,

they will have to eat the rich.
It will take a great awakening in the conscience of the American soul for that to happen, probably not without bloodshed.

[mn9driver]

11. The top marginal tax rate in 1980 was 70 percent

The capital gains rate was 35 percent. The top marginal and capital gains tax rates are a fraction of that now.

The result is depicted on those charts.

[Equinox Moon]

12. Why was the most drastic in-equality during Pres. Obama's terms?

[Bradical79]

24. My guess is the financial crises

LOTS was lost at the bottom which never fully recovered, hence the negative number, I think.

[jgmiller]

30. Partially a continuation of the labor environment

Remember this is a comparison of the top 10% no the 1%. 10% covers an enormous amount of white collar jobs. As traditional blue collar jobs left the country and the tech economy made leaps and bounds in the last 15-20 years the divergence would become even more pronounced. This is a disturbing chart but this can be a very one sided way to look at things, it provides a starting point for conversation not an answer to it all.

[TrollBuster9090]

14. How do we get back from this? It's easy.

1. Remove the Social Security Payroll tax cap, so that the wealthy pay their fair share for Social Security.

2. You can leave the Capital Gains tax at 15%, but it will only apply to AMERICAN companies. No more giving American plutocrats a tax break to invest in Chinese companies that are dedicated to driving the American companies into the dust.

3. Remove Tax Havens. All the first world countries should sign a pact that they'll impose sanctions on tax havens. No more billionaires stashing their money in fake SHELL COMPANIES in the Bahamas.

4. Remove all loopholes from the tax code for all incomes above $100k. No more getting a 'home owner's grant' for a $5 million mansion.

5. Raise the top tax rate to 50%, lower the bottom rates. Poor and middle class people spend the money they save in the LOCAL economy, while billionaires put all their money in offshore tax havens that do nothing to stimulate the American economy.

6. Eliminate all business tax for CO-OP businesses that are owned by the employees.


Finally...if you want to see those red bars f-ing EXPLODE, just watch what will happen when Trump and the Republicans finally succeed in eliminating the ESTATE TAX. The Estate Tax is the LAST bastion of progressive taxation. If that tax goes under, you aint seen NOTHING yet when it comes to wealth inequality. It's going to make the gilded age look like a socialist paradise.

[First Speaker]

17. Excellent post! But if any attempt were made to do this...

...there would be a coup by the 1%. It would be Chile in 1973, Spain in 1936...even America in 1861...all over again. Those people don't give a shit about our democracy. Follow The Money...and you'll understand the whole of "conservative" politics.

[roamer65]

32. .

[nocalflea]

16. Lets not forget Reagan's demonization of unions.

Still happening.Still emasculating the american workforce.

[elleng]

26. MAYBE the worst thing reagan did/began.

[certainot]

31. destroy the talk radio monopoly and fix it. that's all

[LittleGirl]

33. K N R eom

[bagelsforbreakfast]

35. The American Dream has left the building... n/m

[Eyeball_Kid]

37. The Rocket Scientist in me says that the solution is to tax the rich at the same rate as

in the Eisenhower era.

[moondust]

38. How?

Well, MSM have often told us the economy is robust in the "richest nation on Earth," so clearly we need to maintain the status quo with maybe a few incremental changes here and there. Yeah, that's it! Incremental changes!

But seriously, some of us privately predicted this...

in 1980. When cowboy Reagan took aim at "big government." And sure enough, a couple years later the studies began to appear that showed the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer. I don't think anybody knew how bad it would turn out to be.

[lostnfound]

39. THIS is one reason for fight over healthcare. Bottom 90% no longer have $$$ to offer the Owners

Healthcare is something they can die without, yet how can they pay for it when incomes are so low? Bottom 90% of people probably need same health care needs per capita as top 10% but no way to pay for same quality and scope.

[Blue_true]

40. It is more than just Reagan inspired policies.

Automation and Artificial Intelligence advanced have shifted the economic playing field greatly in favor of individuals and companies that can afford to implement them, destroying the ones that can't. Automation and Artificial Intelligence are also pushing out workers and forcing them into underemployed careers. My feeling is it is time to seriously consider guaranteed incomes for all adult Americans.

[BSdetect]

41. k&r

[colsohlibgal]

42. Ronnie Started It All

For years the top marginal tax rate was 60-92%. Ronnie essentially slashed it by about half.

Plus, late in his 2nd term he did away with the long standing Fairness Doctrine...enabling the lies and duplicity of right wing propganda. That over time has resulted in a large swath of our population who believe in a false alternate reality, so called "alternate facts".