Trickle-down tax cuts don’t work. That isn’t stopping Republicans. 

Despite a finding by the Congressional Budget Office that extending the Trump tax cuts would increase the national debt by $4.7 trillion over the next decade, Republicans remain resolute in pursuing this path through a party-line reconciliation process. If successful, this will mark their fourth major enactment of a trickle-down tax cut in recent decades, none of which have delivered on their promises of leading to broad prosperity. 

The pattern is painfully familiar. Each time, Americans have been sold the fantasy that cutting taxes for the wealthy and corporations would generate enough economic growth to benefit everyone — so much so that the tax cuts would actually pay for themselves. Each time the result has been the same: middle-class wages stagnate while wealth concentrates at the top, all while the budget deficit explodes as a result.  

The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was passed with grandiose promises that it would bring broad prosperity through trickle-down economics, but it delivered nothing of the sort. 

The individual income tax savings in the 2017 tax cuts were overwhelmingly tilted to the highest earners; those in the top 1 percent saw their tax bill lowered by over $50,000, while those in the bottom 40 percent saw $380 or less in annual savings. This was exacerbated by the cut to corporate tax rates, which primarily funded stock buybacks. These benefited shareholders rather than workers.  

With the wealthiest 10 percent owning over 90 percent of all stocks, there is simply no credible argument that this tax cut did anything to actually help the vast majority of Americans economically. Any politician arguing for the extension of this tax cut on the basis that it will help the middle class is either delusional or outright lying in service to plutocratic plunder. 

Even more troubling are the trillions in spending offsets Republicans are currently looking to pair with an extension of the Trump tax cuts. They are preparing to enact substantial reductionsto Medicare benefits, to add restrictions on Medicaid eligibility, eliminate healthcare subsidies that help working families afford coverage, and cut food assistance programs that serve as vital lifelines for struggling Americans.  

Why would they do this? Simple — they need to find ways to offset the cost of the tax cuts in order to appease deficit hawks in their caucus. The Republicans are effectively pulling a reverse Robin Hood, giving tax breaks to the rich and taking away resources from the poor to pay for it.   

Being the minority party in both houses of Congress, Democrats can't stop this from happening. They can, however, begin to sell Americans on a better plan, one that will allow them to retake the House in the midterms and the presidency in 2028. That plan is “middle-out economics,” and it represents a return to the kitchen-table issues that once defined the Democratic Party, back when it could count on the working class to vote in their economic interests. 

A middle-out economic message recognizes the fundamental truth that equitable economic growth isn’t a trickle-down phenomenon — it is something that comes from a strong middle class with disposable income to spend. When middle-class consumers have money, businesses gain customers, leading to job creation and a rising economic tide that truly lifts all boats. 

Moreover, unlike trickle-down economics, middle-out policy has an actual record of success. America experienced some of its strongest economic growth during periods with significantly higher top marginal tax rates. The post-World War II economic boom, which created the American middle class, occurred when top marginal tax rates were 70-90 percent. 

To be clear, advocating for middle-out economics isn't about punishing success. It's about creating fiscal policies that ensure our economy works for everyone, not just those at the top. It's about acknowledging that the Republicans' top-down approach never works; it only concentrates wealth while the rest of America struggles.

Nicholas Creel is an associate professor of business law at Georgia College and State University. His views do not necessarily reflect those of that or any other institution.