Mary Milliron dredges up that old leftist bogeyman about trickle-down economics in her attack piece on “tax cuts for the rich.” In doing so, she reveals a lack of understanding of what “trickle-down economics” originally was. Trickle-down economics originally described a policy whereby the government taxed everyone and gave that money to a favored few so that they would invest in businesses, hire people and thereby grow the economy. This cannot work any better than any other government-centric policy, whereby government picks winners and losers.  Of course, present-day liberals view anyone’s income as primarily belonging to the government, so a tax cut, in their eyes, becomes a “giveaway” to the rich.

I think it would be fair to call liberal economic policy as “trickle-down government.” That works like this: Politicians pass a program. To fund it, taxes are jacked up on everyone, especially the rich. With this money, bureaucrats are hired, buildings are built, and office furniture, computers and lots and lots of paper are purchased. Then, whatever money is left over, trickles down to the poor.

What liberals don’t seem to understand is that letting someone keep more of their rightful money is not a “giveaway.” It is merely doing the right thing. It is money they’ve earned, and since they have earned it, it is theirs by right.

People like Ms. Milliron should be less obsessed with what someone else has earned and have in mind their own business. If people, like Ms. Milliron, would spend less time and effort trying to dream up some scheme and rationalization to take money belonging to someone else and more time and effort trying to improve their own life through their own effort, we would have a much better society and economy.

George Lundstrom

Albert Lea