I have discussed many times on this blog about the failure and unfairness of Republican economic policies. This chart (from The Intellectualist) vividly demonstrates that.
The left side of the chart shows the growth of income among the quintiles of the American economy between 1947 and 1979. Note that the economic policy in effect at that time caused pretty equal growth (percentage) among all five groups. Everyone benefitted from the growing productivity of the economy.
That changed in 1980, when the Republicans seized enough control of government to institute their own economic policies. They said that giving more to the rich would benefit everyone. They lied. Their policy, between 1980 and 2007, showed that it only benefitted the rich. The top 20% had income growth of 95%, and the top 1% had income growth of 261%.
How did everyone else (the bottom 80%) do? Not well. Those groups saw growth of only 15% to 33% -- a growth that didn't even keep up with inflation.
Remember this when you go to vote in 2020. Republican policies help only the rich -- and they continue to cling to those policies. It doesn't have to be that way. As the policies between 1947 and 1979 demonstrate, we can have an economy that is healthy and fair to everyone. But that can't happen until the Republicans are voted out of power.
