Conservative Economics Coming Home to Roost

The American dream is dying. Every year we have to work longer and harder for less and less. Except, of course, for the very wealthy. If you're one of the fortunate few at the peak of our socio-economic system, not only has your income increased significantly in recent years, but your federal tax rate has dropped almost in half. The charts below say it all:




This might be defensible if our economy was doing well, or, to use a Republican analogy, if a rising tide was indeed lifting all boats. Unfortunately, as the rich have become ever richer, the rest of us have not. Average income has been stagnant, despite significant increases in worker productivity.

These trends are the inevitable result of conservative policies designed to benefit business and the wealthy, and to weaken organized labor. Policies that began during the Reagan administration and reached fruition under George W. Bush. Policies that, unfortunately, have been aided and abetted by far too many "moderate" Democrats.