Reply #20: The "trickle down" ideology

[Time for change]

The idea (or excuse) behind Reagan and Bush's variety of policies that favor the wealthy (income tax cuts for the wealthy, subsidies and deregulation of corporations, large cuts on capital gains taxes and inheritance taxes) is that making the wealthy wealthier acts as a spur to the economy, thereby improving the economic future for everyone.

Aside from the fact that there is no evidence whatsoever to support this ideology, it doesn't make much sense. When the wealthy get wealthier they use their extra wealth to increase their political clout, which they use to cut social programs that benefit everyone and give themselves additional breaks. It can be a never ending cycle unless somethng or someone intervenes to stop it.

When the poor or the middle class increases their wealth, on the other hand, that additional wealth tends to go back into the economy as they use their additional money to purchase the necessities of life and other good and services that make life worth living.