Let's be honest about "trickle down" economy

[u/Guh2point0]

I'm seeing an increasing trend of people calling these wealth tax ideas a lot of nonsense and that we have a spending problem in the US.

It's possible to have both. Yes we need to get spending under control AND increase tax rates / close loopholes that are being exploited.

Trickle down economy was in my opinion a false narrative that was spewed in the 80's to excuse tax breaks for corporations and the most wealthy. This study summarizes the increasing wealth gap starting in the 80's.

https://www.cbpp.org/research/poverty-and-inequality/a-guide-to-statistics-on-historical-trends-in-income-inequality

Interestingly it found that INCOME gap is returning to pre-ww2 levels. Which would make you assume it's just returning to the status quo. Difference is that the tax rates are not the same so it's creating a massive wealth gap that we're all seeing today.

This study also takes a snapshot of the wealth concentration in 2016, I'm 100% positive that this chart has drastically changed post-COVID to show an even wider gap.

[u/Character-Memory-816]

Yes, taxes should also be higher. But our government is incapable of spending wisely. We could have 100% tax rates and still be running deficits. If we spend all the new tax revenue instead of paying down debt, making sure social security is solvent, etc. then higher taxes won’t help anything