Thom Hartmann: Hartmann Vs. Selig - Trickle-down economics only creates a nation of peons

David Selig, Conservative Commentator, joins Thom Hartmann. The message of economic equality that we hear coming from the Occupy movement hinges a lot on tax policy. One of the main gripes that Occupy has articulated over the last year was that the 1% no longer pays their fair share in taxes. Conservatives don't disagee - but they argue that low taxes on the 1%, will actually benefit all of us in the long run. They say it's all about helping the so-called job creators - making sure they keep more of their money to...well...create jobs. It's the basis of Reaganomics - or trickle-down economics. But as we know today - it doesn't work. Trickle-down economics works only to create a nation of peons. Since this trickle-down economic philosophy has been adopted - job creation has slowed - economic activity has been stagnant - and only the very very rich, the top 1% have seen any economic gains - while the rest of has have seen losses.

And now there's this: a new report by the Congressional Research Service that delivers the death blow to trickle-down economics. The report examines tax policy since 1945 to determine whether or not low taxes on the rich actually benefits the economy. The report's conclusion: they don't. As the report says: "The results of the analysis suggest that changes over the past 65 years in the top marginal tax rate and the top capital gains tax rate do not appear correlated with economic growth...However, the top tax rate reductions appear to be associated with the increasing concentration of income at the top of the income distribution." In other words - low taxes on the rich...only help the rich. So is this the intellectual death knell in 30-years of Reaganomics?

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