Economic myth no.2: Trickle-down economics

One of the mainstays of market economics is the idea of trickle-down – that it does not matter that the rich corner the money, because eventually they will spend it only lesser mortals, who will then benefit from it.

This is not a very convincing idea, yet it stays on the lips of conservative politicians and economists everywhere. And it’s not true, of course – not even about the money, let alone the real economic consequences. Starting with the real economy, what happens when a rich person acquires money and spends it as a private individual? They spend it on, say, a house. Eventually everyone who works on the house is paid of course – hence the trickle-down. But what happens to the real human effort and the resources that go into that house? They are the real value in the economy, and what happens to them? They remain in the hands of the owner. They enter the economy through the paid work, but promptly leave society in the form of a private dwelling that absorbs a disproportionate amount of social activity and resources. That time, effort and resource can never be used by society again.

Contrast this to what would have happened if the same amount of money had been spent on, say, new classrooms and facilities for the local school. The same effort and resources would have been expended, but this time all those who built it would still benefit from the product of their work – the school itself. This remains in circulation in society, as it were, in complete contrast to the private home. So trickle-down economics is aptly named – only a trickle of the great flood of real social value benefits society as a whole, while much the greater part remains in the hands of the wealthy in the form of the real goods and services they enjoy.

What about the money, then? Surely that has to circulate? Some of it, such as the payment for work and materials, yes, but not all. A good deal will be set aside for investment. And what is investment for, if not to buy further property that both generates further income to be used for socially exploitative purposes and places more of the real economy into private hands? Of course, the money is eventually released, but only under conditions that not only repeat the same cycle but also reinforce the control of the propertied over the rest.