Are trickle down economics really working?

Question

The rich are getting richer, and the poor are getting poorer. Our factories are being shipped overseas...how is this improving our economy again? Admittedly, the prices are going down, but if you don't have a job, you don't buy.

Answer 1

The rich get richer, and they fool themselves into thinking they are entitled to their wealth. They obtain wealth by virtue of the fact that they are at the top of a vast economic pyramid, without which they would have nothing. In failing to recognize the relationship between the base and the apex, they neglect to be grateful for the abundance they enjoy, and fail to recognize and renew the source of that abundance.

The rich get righer and the poor get poorer. Trickle down economics is a nonsensical policy. Trickle down economics is like feeding the dog from whatever food happens to fall off the table. That is not enough to maintain the dog's well being.

The only time value is added to the economy is when money changes hands. You do your specialty, I do mine, and we all benefit from the efficiencies of specialization. In the process some people are better at getting money than others, and they go up a notch. If that is based on talent and hard work, fine.

But if the very rich hold all the money and make a game of trying to get more, then money at the base of the pyramid ceases to move, and the structure on which the pyramid is built collapses. Money has to make its way back into the base for the system to continue working. What trickles down out of the hands of the rich as they develop their investments is table scraps for the rest of us. People only create jobs for others when there is a profit to be made off their labor. The profit always moves up. In an economy that controls inflation (meaning it maintains a finite money supply), this always leaves a vacuum at the bottom.

Maybe we should call it tricky down economics. You heard it here first.

So to answer your question directly, trickle down economics works well for the very rich, but not for the rest of us.

Answer 2

I'm going to ignore a majority of your details, but I will attempt to answer why trickle down economics does not work.

It relies on the idea that the rich consume at the same rate the poor do. That, however, is inaccurate. Sure, there are some rich people that do spend as much, but the majority of rich people save more as a percentage of their income than poor people do. As such, the intended amount of money does not flow through the economy. Instead, it often flows to businesses (rich people investing in debt and equity markets) which in turn rewards other rich people. Thus, poor people are helped some, but not as much as intended.

Not that I agree with it, but this fact is supposed to be mitigated somewhat by welfare and unemployment insurance.

I just wanted to point something out the gentleman below me - the recession of the late 70s was caused by stagflation due to high prices. The economy cannot correct itself until oil prices dropped. The Fed could merely combat inflation or unemployment, not both. As such, when oil dropped, the economy took off. Furthermore, the development of the PC fueled a huge economic boom that hasn't since stopped.

Answer 3

Do you remember the terrible recession filled 1970s & early 80s? Well, in about the middle of Reagan's first term he first enacted his "tickle down" economic programs which take a little time to see results but by the end of his 1st term the US economy started to get hot and it hasn't really stopped since. The US is the richest nation in the world with the highest average individual income in the world of $30,000. The world avg. is about $3,500. More people in the US are off of welfare than at any other time in US history. Yes, there are still poor people in America who may be getting paid less but there there are so many more former poor people that now have jobs. And yes manufactoring factories are being shipped out of the US but tens of thousands of new jobs in other sectors that pay well are taking the place in the US. And when US citizens take those new good paying jobs they can buy quality cheap goods that are made in China or India. The US economy is just shifting not losing.

Answer 4

Poo poop dee do..............

Trickle down is all a Republican can do. I think it has something to do with their prostate glands. *tee-hee*

Didn't that thought start with the man who was the proud sponsor of the 1929 Stock Market Crash? Another famous Republican named Herbert Hoover? I seem to have read that somewhere.

Then I think I recall hearing BONZO's straight man Ronald Reagan ( Another dinosaur ) use that theory again and the results were nearly the same and would have been had it not been for Social Security being in place. ( It wasn't in 1929) We just had a big recession...... not a depression.

The Republican ideology of "trickle down" is when they are the ones standing on the top of the heap. Then they take a pee-pee on those standing below them and it "trickles down".

But with Curious George........ and his tiny little wanker, it would be more of a dribble down than a trickle. *tee-hee*

*kiss*

Answer 5

Trickle down works best with socialist countries and true democracies, which America hasn't had since the war against poverty in the '60's and the new deal in the 40's.

Of late, it's all about the rich. The middle class are scammed and the poor are forgotten. Pathetic America. What happened to the dream? Americans forgot they should be involved with their governments. How about using your smarts to write a letter to your legislators. They should be hearing from every voter.

Answer 6

Of course it is working. Can't you feel that 'nuveau riche' golden hot shower trickling down your back. I know you do because of the questions you ask and the conclusions you draw.

I am the Fringe and the sheep never look up!

Answer 7

Manufacturing jobs have been & will continue to move off shore. It doesn't matter who is in the White House or who controls Congress. Manufacturing jobs are declining worldwide. This is also going to continue. Somehow our economy is handling this well right now. Something must be working.

Answer 8

Sure

Joan Quigley (the Raygun family sorceress) thought up this plan. Give money to rich people and they will share their worn out clothes with their slaves.

I picked an avocado from a millionaires tree.

Go big Red Go

Answer 9

... I've not seen the prices of anything go down? gas just went up again where I am? at best inflation has remained stagnant, just like pay increases have...

trickle down didn't work, and it's not working now...

Answer 10

Sorry, but when you pose a question with a bunch of rhetoric and assertions that aren't true (or can't be proven) then you don't really expect a serious response, do you?