By William Berkson. Ronald Reagan’s small-government crusade led directly to our current era of slow growth and massive income inequality. But his vision still dominates the political landscape. Why? History shows that sustained, equitable growth only happens during periods of strong government investment in both the commercial and social welfare spheres—what I call the “Investment State”. Its opposite is the…
By William Berkson: Many of us feel cheated of the American dream of growing prosperity. But we should target our anger appropriately. Since 1980, whenever Democrats resided in the White House, poverty declined and middle class incomes rose, on the average. But the opposite is true during Republican administrations – poverty rose and middle class incomes stagnated. Two charts (see…
By William Berkson: Tax reform is not a zero-sum game. Since Ronald Reagan lowered taxes in the 1980s, followed by George W. Bush in the early 2000s and Donald Trump last year, middle class income has stagnated despite productivity increases, and overall economic growth has been mediocre. Instead of lose-lose, we can have win-win, bolstering both fairness and economic growth…