In what The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Greg Bluestein called a "repudiation" of generations of conservative tax policy, President Biden pointedly asserted Wednesday night that "trickle-down economics has never worked." Biden's critique of supply-side economics, delivered in his first address to a joint session of Congress, was "an attempt to put a dagger in the Reagan era," NBC News' Sahil Kapur writes.
The trickle-down theory, heavily associated with former President Ronald Reagan's economic policies, posits that tax cuts for businesses and the wealthy will help stimulate the economy and eventually lead to prosperity for the rest of society.
Biden, who voted for Reagan's tax cuts when he was in the Senate, made the comment after noting that many billionaires in America saw their net worth shoot up during the coronavirus pandemic, while 20 million "working and middle class" Americans lost their jobs. Tim O'Donnell
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
RFK Jr. names new CDC head as staff revoltSpeed Read Kennedy installed his deputy, Jim O'Neill, as acting CDC director
-
DC prosecutors lose bid to indict sandwich throwerSpeed Read Prosecutors sought to charge Sean Dunn with assaulting a federal officer
-
White House fires new CDC head amid agency exodusSpeed Read CDC Director Susan Monarez was ousted after butting heads with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over vaccines
-
DOGE put Social Security data at risk, official saysSpeed Read DOGE workers made the personal information of hundreds of millions of Americans vulnerable to identity theft
-
Court rejects Trump suit against Maryland US judgesSpeed Read Judge Thomas Cullen, a Trump appointee, said the executive branch had no authority to sue the judges
-
Trump expands National Guard role in policingSpeed Read The president wants the Guard to take on a larger role in domestic law enforcement
-
Trump says he's firing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa CookSpeed Read The move is likely part of Trump's push to get the central bank to cut interest rates
-
Abrego released from jail, faces Uganda deportationSpeed Read The wrongly deported Kilmar Abrego García is expected to be detained at an ICE check-in and deported to Uganda
