Even if "trickle down economics" worked (which it doesn't), it would be cruel and unjust. How did we become so inured to that phrase? Archbishop Hélder Câmara said
But "they" are unfair in making that accusation. Communism is not the only alternative to our present inhumane system. Certainly a market economy is more efficient than a centrally dictated economy, but many kinds of markets are possible.
Thom Hartmann’s book:
Screwed: The Undeclared War Against the Middle Class — And What We Can Do About It
Hartmann’s central argument is that a strong democracy promotes economic equality and the creation of a healthy middle class; and that maintenance of a vibrant middle class is crucial to maintaining a functioning and effective democracy.
This is true in principle, he argues; more importantly, he asserts, it is the central trope of U.S. history. The United States has witnessed two great periods of middle-class expansion, he writes. First, from the 1700s until the middle of the 1800s, fueled by the transfer of land from Native Americans to settlers — “a great deal for the settlers, who got the land virtually for free, and a raw deal for the Native Americans.” The resulting land-based middle class remained strong until the post-Civil War era, when agribusiness giants gained control over the farm economy, and industrial corporations rose up in urban areas. The Robber Baron era that followed saw the creation of great wealth, but its concentration in a few hands — and the concomitant degradation of U.S. democracy.
Hartmann’s central argument is that a strong democracy promotes economic equality and the creation of a healthy middle class; and that maintenance of a vibrant middle class is crucial to maintaining a functioning and effective democracy.
This is true in principle, he argues; more importantly, he asserts, it is the central trope of U.S. history. The United States has witnessed two great periods of middle-class expansion, he writes. First, from the 1700s until the middle of the 1800s, fueled by the transfer of land from Native Americans to settlers — “a great deal for the settlers, who got the land virtually for free, and a raw deal for the Native Americans.” The resulting land-based middle class remained strong until the post-Civil War era, when agribusiness giants gained control over the farm economy, and industrial corporations rose up in urban areas. The Robber Baron era that followed saw the creation of great wealth, but its concentration in a few hands — and the concomitant degradation of U.S. democracy.
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