Bitter fruit

To the editor:

Most political pundits believe the worldwide populist movement is being driven by anger over working class economic displacement.

To me, this bitter fruit was planted by the elections of Margaret Thatcher (1979) and Ronald Reagan (1980). These neo-conservatives embraced supply-side economics, the brainchild of Robert Mundell and Arthur Laffer, which posits that economic growth is best achieved by lowering taxes, decreasing regulation and unfettered free trade. Laffer argued that lowering top tax rates would result in higher federal revenues, due to economic expansion.

While supply side never delivered on its economic success (recessions in 1987, 2007 and 2020) or revenue promises (debt exploding from $1 trillion in 1980 to $34+ trillion today), supply-side was very successful at widening wealth inequality.  

In 1978, the middle 40 percent of Americans held 35.3 percent of the nation’s wealth and the top 1 percent held 21.8 percent; historically, the widest advantage favoring the middle class. By 2022, the middle’s share dropped to 27.8 percent and the top’s grew to 34.9 percent (a massive redistribution of wealth). Despite 45 years of failure, supply-side remains baked into Republican DNA. 

Democrats also failed. When Bill Clinton’s 1993 tax increase on top earners resulted in a Red Wave the following year, Democrats moved right and never again substantively challenged the supply-side narrative, fearing the “socialist/communist” label.

Demagogues, like Nigel Farage, Marine Le Pen and Donald Trump exploit the anger created by economic displacement and redirect it against minorities, immigrants and social changes around gender, religion and marriage. Once again, we hear Trump touting tax cuts, deregulation and deriding “communist” Democrats. 

Believing he represents hope is a fools’ errand; trickle-down, supply-side conservatives hollowed out the middle class. The only way to restore it is to move left, not right. Progressive taxation, a living minimum wage, Medicare-for-all and regulating business’ excesses is the cure.  

Joseph Cannisi