....is a phenomenon that has repeated itself throughout human history.

The tremendous wealth gap and concentration at the top.  And you can blame the "Voo doo" economics of the Reagan administration as the root cause of the latest example of wealth inequality.

I was raised in the 1980s and was a typical young Ronald Reagan Republican..... I revered "the Gipper" for stopping the detente foreign policy of the 1970s vis-a-vis the Soviet Union, and restoring American Military prowess during the 1980s.   Economically, since I was but a teenager when Reagan first took office, I did not really understand or care about the "trickle down" economic policies that his admin ushered in, complete with the MASSIVE tax cuts for the wealthy and the deregulation across the board of so many industries.

Today, it is obvious and clear that the things started by the Reagan Republicans and perpetuated ever since by subsequent republican admins and congresses, are the reason why the American Economy is so lopsided and top heavy in favor of the SUPER wealthy.   This situation is absurd....consider:

The concentration of wealth in the top 1% is now the highest its ever been....trickle down theory is BS, it cannot work, it does not work.  Cutting taxes on the wealthy does NOT improve employment, investment or the economy.  It's wrong.

During the Pandemic, the wealthy actually DOUBLED their wealth while everyone else suffered grievously....wtf???

Entrepreneurship needs government help to flourish, not the other way around.  Deregulation simply allows the worst Human impulses and vices to take hold and ruin many industries and the economy.

It's a known fact, most super wealthy (over 100 million dollars, and especially fobillionaires) take their wealth and MOVE it into offshore havens or into untouchable trusts....they do NOT plow it back into the economy where it can work for everyone in conjunction with the owner.  This has been the norm since the 1980s tax cuts and subsequent policies.

It is no longer sustainable....the system will (and already is) breaking down.....

One last thing.....self made millionaires are crucial to a fair capitalist society.....but no one subsequently "earns" a BILLION DOLLARS.  Mark Cuban said it best.....to become a millionaire requires hard work and smarts; to become a Billionaire?  That's just Luck and systemic features that benefit ONLY those with a lot of money.

-- Modified on 8/3/2024 6:20:50 AM

First off, welcome to the P&R Forum.

I’ve got some comments re your observations.Only Republican administrations?  Since Reagan we’ve had Clinton, Obama and now Biden. Almost 20 years of Dem rule where at times they enjoyed Dem majorities in both the House and Senate.  Would you concede that there’s at least a “uniparty” aspect to this problem that you are ignoring?

Is it really just a Republican problem? Where do these billionaires gain wealth? A good part of that growth comes from the stock markets. Highest ever, under Biden, who brags about record breaking numbers on Wall Street (that primarily benefits the wealthy according to your “trickle down doesn’t work” premise). On the one hand, Biden is bragging about the stock market that’s enriching the wealthy. At the same time he’s criticizing the “greedy” wealthy.  

You do remember that Biden had Dem majorities for two years. And the wealth gap continued to grow unabated. If there’s blame to be assigned for the state of our economic system, I think you’ve got to take a deeper look at who propels these policies (lobbyists), and who benefits from the lobbyists’ cash (Democrats and Republicans alike).

The book expertly details how Republicans worked behind the scenes starting in the '70s to grab the levers of power and destroy the Middle Class.

I read the summary at your link. Seems to me the candidate who is most directly addressing this exact issue is RFK Jr. Your thoughts?

Also, he doesn't have a chance so why waste a vote on him? You should read the actual book. I have. There's a lot in it about the Heritage Foundation, the Kochs and Milton Friedman.

I’ll add it to my reading list. But it does seem nobody is directly answering the intersection of politics and business more directly than RFK Jr. I don’t think he’s nuts, and a vote for him is not a wasted vote.

...The Dems are guilty too, it's just the Republicans are Guiltier and primarily responsible for the most egregious aspects of the grossly distorted wealth gap.  Since 1896  (When JP Morgan, Carnegie and other gilded age tycoons drafted William McKinley to take on William Jennings Bryant)  the Republican party has been unequivocally the party of the Wealthy and Big Business, no question about it, and their policies and initiatives vis-a-vis the economy have destroyed the middle class (which incidentally really didn't exist in it's modern form until FDR in the 1930s).    

I will concede the system is broken, the US economy will eventually implode....the current debt load of 35 TRILLION and counting, with more deficits projected ad infinitum, will never ever be repaid.....   Not without increased revenue of a magnitude unseen in this country's taxation history.

Fact: the last 3 years of WIlliam Jefferson Clinton (1998-2000( the US Government ran a SURPLUS!   That was the one chance the country had to regain control.....instead what happened, was the Florida recount scandal, followed by George W. Bush giving everyone a couple hundred bucks in the mail 3 months before 9/11....anyone remember that stupidity?