Trickle-down

I could start this by saying that trickle-down was a good idea, but I won't. What I will say, is that it is sound economic theory.

Economics, contrary to what you may think, is nothing more than the study of human behavior. Economics professors will tell you that it is the science of scarcity, but that's just a sham. It is the art of understanding human behavior in the face of scarcity. Capitalism and Communism are economic systems. They both have something to offer. They both strive toward the common good, they just get there on different paths. Capitalism acknowledges self interest as human nature. Communism relies on sacrifice for the good of the community. Anti-capitalists will tell you that self-interest is bad, even evil. That's nonsense. Self interest keeps you from stepping in front of a bus, or being too lazy to feed yourself. Anti-communists will tell you that sacrifice means few produce, while many consume. Also nonsense. Neither system will tolerate an imbalance of net producers and net consumers. Unfortunately, both systems are fragile enough to be brought low by one of the baser traits of human nature: greed.

Trickle-down is a distinctly capitalist theory. It posits that if the state (a.k.a. the government) allows more capital to stay in the hands of net producers, they will be inclined to increase production, consuming more goods and services, labor, most notably, to do so. Capital flowing toward labor allows workers to have more means to consume, creating demand for goods and services created by net producers. It is a positive feedback system.

Capitalism and Communism have never been realized systems. Humans are well known for crippling theoretical systems. It is no more accurate to say that the United States is a capitalist state than it is to say that China is a communist state. It is safe to say that the United States is corporatist, while China is statist, making them both fascist states.

But I digress...

Trickle-down requires a truly capitalist economy, or as purely capitalistic as possible. There is its downfall. True Capitalism cannot function in the presence of greed. Therefore, neither can trickle-down. In the presence of extreme greed, trickle-down becomes destructive and tyrannical. Rather than balancing the system, it creates an ever-widening gap between the haves and the have-nots. It creates complicity between large producers and the government. The ruling class, both public and private, accrue power to themselves by withholding the capital meant for trickling down.

Wild-eyed anti-capitalists and proto-communists will make shrill accusations that the failure of trickle-down is proof that Capitalism is an evil system. That's like saying that because your blue Ford got carjacked, all cars must be bad. It's illogical and just plain not true.

So, to reiterate, trickle-down was a valid, if incomplete theory that inevitably failed in its implementation. Fortunately, Capitalism was not seriously injured in the ensuing train wreck.