Where did trickle-down economics come from?

The term “trickle-down” originated as a joke by humorist Will Rogers and today is often used to criticize economic policies that favor the wealthy or privileged while being framed as good for the average citizen.

What is Macroeconomics concerned with?

Economists also look at two realms. There is big-picture macroeconomics, which is concerned with how the overall economy works. It studies such things as employment, gross domestic product, and inflation—the stuff of news stories and government policy debates.

Do tax cuts for the rich help the middle class?

Government policy in recent decades has lifted many out of poverty and provided large tax cuts to the rich. The middle class has lost out. Tax cuts dressed up as help for the middle class should be labelled for what they are: welfare for the wealthy. The best course of action is not to double-down on deficit-financed tax cuts.

How has the tax cuts affected the economy?

In the months following passage of the tax cuts, unemployment fell to a 49-year low and key demographics including women, African-Americans and Hispanics have seen record low unemployment rates.

Will the new tax law help the poor or the rich?

The new tax law—known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA)—will exacerbate this trend. The benefits of the law tilt toward the well-off both now and in the future, according to the distributional analysis of the Tax Policy Center. By 2027, benefits of the tax law flow entirely to the rich.

Can well-designed tax policy help the middle class?

Well-designed tax policy can be an effective tool for helping the middle class. In a new book, The Forgotten Americans, one of us (Isabel Sawhill) has proposed tax credits for workers that directly boost wages for the bottom third of earners, and tax incentives for employers who invest in…