I thought of the phrase "trickle up economics" at least as far back last June, when I wrote about it in More on my sad state PLUS Trickle up Economics. Others have thought of it before me, but only now do I see the phrase used much in public debate, as we hear it from the "Occupy Wall Street" and its associated movements. I have no idea if that movement will do any good. I do notice the right is having a field day scaring people with "Class Warfare" talk.
But as Warren Buffet said “There’s class warfare, all right, but it’s my class, the rich class, that’s making war, and we’re winning.” The remark was noted in 2006 by Ben Stein, who in many ways seems far-right, but here he was favorably recalling a conversation with Buffet about guess what? The fact that he pays so much less tax percentage-wise than his secretaries and other staff (apparently Buffet has been on this subject for at least 5 years) And here is Stein providing a fact-check on the claim that lower taxes are sure to bring in more revenue by stimulating the economy:
Once upon a time, Barons and such were vastly richer than the common people who were illiterate and lived in squalid huts. But these Barons still had to live in drafty stone castles, and be subject to the black plague and the most awful lingering diseases of old age that started at around age 40. Also, due to the scarcity (and indivisibility) of privileged positions, they tended to get murdered by their peers. They could certainly not eat strawberries in the winter or fly to warmer climates.
Why do today's richest .01% live so much better lives? Why can they live in climate controlled houses bigger and more comfortable than the old castles? Why do they enjoy all the exotic and wonderful food of the world, fly all over the world, suffer so little from disease; enjoy life to the age of 80 and older, with new hips and knees when they need them? It is because over the last several centuries, the nations of the world (sometimes to the dismay of their 18th, 19th and 20th century counterparts) found ways to educate most; perhaps the vast majority of people, not just the rich few who could have multiple tutors. And the nations invested in public works, and public transportation, and finally in the 19th and 20th centuries, limits were placed on the working hours of the laboring classes which allowed the creative and energetic to better themselves. All of this involved the nation spending for the common good
What's that got to do with improving lives of Barons? Some of the former peasants with the help of literacy became printers producing more books than had ever been seen before. With the Industrial Revolution, some of them rose to be manufacturers, inventing new mechanisms for efficiency and far better transportation.
Also, quite recently, in the U.S. in particular the GI bill and highly subsidized state colleges helped make the technological explosion of the last few decades possible, which has benefited everyone's quality of life, including the lives of the richest .01% -- probably benefited them far beyond what they gave up in taxes.
Around 1970, I went to college in my home town and paid $150 tuition (state subsidized) for a semester. Now their tuition is over $4,000.
It takes a huge educated middle class to create the world that we in the most developed countries live today.
That is trickle up economics. I hope to see the day when thousands of right wing think tanks and movement and pseudo-movements stop waging war to bring about a government that can be "drowned in the bathtub", and allowing the advantages of the rich to snowball and snowball (by the way Snowball is the title of a book by Warren Buffet) until they are in a totally different world from the rest of us. I believe broad based prosperity (not the widening gap between rich and poor of the last several decades) is in everyone's interest, and think there has to be some way this will penetrate even the minds of most of the inhabitants of Richistan, and their political allies.
But as Warren Buffet said “There’s class warfare, all right, but it’s my class, the rich class, that’s making war, and we’re winning.” The remark was noted in 2006 by Ben Stein, who in many ways seems far-right, but here he was favorably recalling a conversation with Buffet about guess what? The fact that he pays so much less tax percentage-wise than his secretaries and other staff (apparently Buffet has been on this subject for at least 5 years) And here is Stein providing a fact-check on the claim that lower taxes are sure to bring in more revenue by stimulating the economy:
This is supposedly proved by the history of tax receipts since my friend George W. Bush became president.
In fact, the federal government collected roughly $1.004 trillion in income taxes from individuals in fiscal 2000, the last full year of President Bill Clinton’s merry rule. It fell to a low of $794 billion in 2003 after Mr. Bush’s tax cuts (but not, you understand, because of them, his supporters like to say).But enough on the "fair share" argument. I want to talk about examples of the ultra-upper-class relaxing some of their tight grip on wealth improved the lives of the poorer classes, and how that "trickled up" to the ultra-upper-class in the form of tremendous improvements in their quality of life.
Once upon a time, Barons and such were vastly richer than the common people who were illiterate and lived in squalid huts. But these Barons still had to live in drafty stone castles, and be subject to the black plague and the most awful lingering diseases of old age that started at around age 40. Also, due to the scarcity (and indivisibility) of privileged positions, they tended to get murdered by their peers. They could certainly not eat strawberries in the winter or fly to warmer climates.
Why do today's richest .01% live so much better lives? Why can they live in climate controlled houses bigger and more comfortable than the old castles? Why do they enjoy all the exotic and wonderful food of the world, fly all over the world, suffer so little from disease; enjoy life to the age of 80 and older, with new hips and knees when they need them? It is because over the last several centuries, the nations of the world (sometimes to the dismay of their 18th, 19th and 20th century counterparts) found ways to educate most; perhaps the vast majority of people, not just the rich few who could have multiple tutors. And the nations invested in public works, and public transportation, and finally in the 19th and 20th centuries, limits were placed on the working hours of the laboring classes which allowed the creative and energetic to better themselves. All of this involved the nation spending for the common good
What's that got to do with improving lives of Barons? Some of the former peasants with the help of literacy became printers producing more books than had ever been seen before. With the Industrial Revolution, some of them rose to be manufacturers, inventing new mechanisms for efficiency and far better transportation.
Also, quite recently, in the U.S. in particular the GI bill and highly subsidized state colleges helped make the technological explosion of the last few decades possible, which has benefited everyone's quality of life, including the lives of the richest .01% -- probably benefited them far beyond what they gave up in taxes.
Around 1970, I went to college in my home town and paid $150 tuition (state subsidized) for a semester. Now their tuition is over $4,000.
It takes a huge educated middle class to create the world that we in the most developed countries live today.
That is trickle up economics. I hope to see the day when thousands of right wing think tanks and movement and pseudo-movements stop waging war to bring about a government that can be "drowned in the bathtub", and allowing the advantages of the rich to snowball and snowball (by the way Snowball is the title of a book by Warren Buffet) until they are in a totally different world from the rest of us. I believe broad based prosperity (not the widening gap between rich and poor of the last several decades) is in everyone's interest, and think there has to be some way this will penetrate even the minds of most of the inhabitants of Richistan, and their political allies.
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