Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Trickle-Down Economics and Broken Promises

www.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/trickledownecon6.pdf
"Americans have seen income inequality rise over the past few decades, yet contrary to long-held trickle-down beliefs that rising inequality is not broadly benefiting society by bringing with it stronger economic growth. The research presented here demonstrates that inequality is not necessary for sustained economic growth and that inequality may actually dampen growth. This flies in the face of a core tenet of trickle-down theory, which errone- ously vouches for the necessity of extreme inequality to generate growth.
As we get a clearer picture of the dangers of income inequality to our economic growth and prosperity, policymakers in Washington will be confronted with a clear choice: to attempt to grow the economy from the top down or from the middle out. Trickle-down economics is severely flawed; for decades, its associated economic policies have gener- ated high levels of inequality, justifying that inequality with faulty logic, and most likely, dampened levels of economic growth."