In the United States, the not so new experiment with "trickle down economics" has lasted quite a few decades now. In fact, it is not the first time that the United States has experimented with it. You may recall, if you paid attention to history, that this same economic approach was what led to the "Great Depression". More recently, the experiments led to the "Great Recession".
Yet, still, the nation is moving forward with faith intact towards an economic system that has been proven not to work. It brings to mind the famous saying by George Santayana: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
President Obama and his team are flouting the economic successes that have supposedly taken place during his administration. We are no longer officially in a recession. The stock market has never been higher. Corporate profits look strong in many cases.
Yet, for the most part, this economic prosperity has been relegated to the very richest among us. That is, of course, by design. Americans still have lingering doubts about scrapping this already discredited economic system, and it is to their detriment. Salaries have largely remained stagnant now over the course of decades and, in fact, have not kept up with the rising cost of living. In a very real sense, that means that the quality of life for the average American has actually declined. My generation, once referred to as "Generation X" (does that still apply?) has become the first in a very long time that is not expected to have more than the preceding generation.
The United States also has become a nation heavily in debt. This is true of the American people, particularly with student debt and credit card debts. Naturally, a government reflects the values of the people it supposedly represents, and so the national government is also highly in debt. The latest headline grabbing fight going on in Washington right now is whether or not to raise the debt ceiling.
Predictably, Tea Party advocates and other neocons feel that what is bankrupting the nation is Obamacare (even though it has not officially been implemented yet), the welfare system, food stamps, and other programs that they derisively refer to as "government handouts". Many American people agree.
Indeed, that the government "hands out" money is undeniable, although it seems important here to point something out: the biggest handouts have come to the very wealthiest Americans. These come in the form of tax cuts, tax incentives and, of course, "government handouts" like the infamous, and largely unpopular bailouts. Many of the same corporations that caused the economic collapse of 2008 because of irresponsible practices, including some very large bonuses that hit the news headlines and drew the ire of the general public, nevertheless continued their unsound practices, which of course, predictably, included the absurdly high bonuses.
Somehow, however, the people seem to neglect this inconvenient fact that the system is not working, that the nation is not the better for it. While corporate profits soar in many cases, these "job creators" simply have not been creating jobs, so that the wealth can trickle down to the rest of the people. That may also be a reason for the personal debts that people acquire, to say nothing of government debt (which, by the way, has increased dramatically also because of the irresponsible wars that the nation has gotten itself into).
Still, Americans are stubbornly sticking to their guns with this, even though it is to their detriment. It benefits the very rich, but it comes at a steep cost.
How much?
Well, take a look at this article, from Paul Buchheit of Moyers & Company, which gives a picture of just how high the cost of this failing system is taking on the average American family:
"Average American Family Pays $6K a Year in Subsidies to Big Business" September 24, 2013 by Paul Buchheit
http://billmoyers.com/2013/09/24/average-american-family-pays-6k-a-year-in-subsidies-to-big-business/
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