The Rich Economics

A favorite editorialists, Steven Pearlstein in the Washington Post this morning, made some interesting points. He was writing about those 40 Billionaires who are giving half of their fortunes to charity. But the point he makes that really struck me is about the so called Trickle Down Theory. The thing is, it doesn't work anymore. He claims that at one time, in the past, it did work. The reason it worked is that those at the top, gave generously so that those in the middle and at the bottom had a chance to get to the top. That's no longer true. Folks at the top don't give as much as those in the middle or bottom. I'm speaking of percentages of income, or wealth. It's like the old Biblical parable of the poor widow who gave the two coins while the rich man made a big show of giving from his wealth. Making a big show is only helpful if it encourages other wealthy to give likewise. The thing is, if the wealthy don't give a great deal, then their wealth doesn't help the country or the society. They do have a responsibility to help others to become successful. If they don't give it away, then the government is justified in taxing it away. Now, I realize that nobody likes taxes. So maybe the rich should start supporting education and hospitals and a host of other things so that the government won't have to. The reason it's important for them to do so, is that the middle class in this country is disappearing. It's disappearing because the country is losing middle class jobs. They're being shipped overseas by companies owned by the rich who complain about the high price of labor. Of course, the complain about the low performance of foreign labor and the lost customers in this country. How come the folks who used to work for me don't buy my companies products any more? Probably sour grapes. Or maybe they don't make enough to pay for the products anymore, because flipping burgers doesn't allow for it in the budget.