Trickle Down Economics

Since first hearing the saying "If you feed the horse enough oats, some will pass through to the road for the sparrows" I thought it would be a perfect description of the Republican desire to cut taxes on the rich as a way to help the poor and middle class. The philosophy known as "trickle down economics", or "supply side economics", is a term that must have originated with Frank Lunz or another Republican strategist, though this doublespeak seems a perfect match to George Orwell as well.

Well, turns out that I am not that original - a quick Google search on the quote shows that John Kenneth Galbraith preceeded me by about 30 years ("Mr. David Stockman has said that supply-side economics was merely a cover for the trickle-down approach to economic policy—what an older and less elegant generation called the horse-and-sparrow theory: If you feed the horse enough oats, some will pass through to the road for the sparrows." John Kenneth Galbraith, "Recession Economics," New York Review of Books, Volume 29, Number 1 (1982-02-04)).

So, I tried to find other illustrations, less reminiscent of dining on (literal) horseshit, that can equally well point out the surreal nature of trickle down logic (i.e. figurative horseshit). By the way, in bad times people too have been known to pick through supply side economics for undigested corn or beans.

Here are a few short parables:

Jim's Story

Jim works as an IT technician at a medium size company, where he reports to the head of IT. His job is to support sales reps and administrators, who often have problems with their desktop and laptops. He update operating systems and applications, trains new employees in their use, and troubleshoot software and hardware issues. He also maintains some of the servers the company uses for email, web services, printing and web-centric applications.

At the end of the year everyone was very satisfied with Jim's performance, which is above average, and the fact that even though the company added computers and employees, response time has improved. Personnel informed Jim that due to his excellent performance, his manager, Roger, will get the maximum raise for the year, 5%. Jim's salary would stay the same. Due to the trickle down effect, he would be better off.

Sarah's Story

Sarah is eight, and has a bigger sister (12) and a younger brother (6). Their parents are both professionals, and the family is well off. Sarah grows rapidly, and needs new clothes every few months. Whenever she grows out of the current wardrobe, her parents buy her older sister new things, while she gets her sister's old, mothballed discards. They tell her "we are not cheapskates, and we certainly do not lack for money. It's just that we believe in trickel down economics. When we buy your bigger sister new clothes, you benefit!"

Virginia's Story

Virginia is eight, and lives, in Manhattan, New York City. Both her parents are banking executives. Every Christmas, her older brother, who works on Wall St., gets all the gifts! Virginia's parents said that giving her brother all Christmas gifts benefits her, and the rewards will trickle down to her soon enough, but so far it has not happened. Virginia no longer believe in Santa Claus (or the printed press, and especially not The Sun, for that matter).