by Peter C. Earle
The American Institute for Economic Research
Whether owing to the distributional effects of government pandemic policies, the recent victory of President-elect Joe Biden, or perhaps just to the hyper-politicization of the modern day, political speech is reacquiring the language accompanying a left turn in policy. Although never absent from public discussion, there’s a newfound vigor to caterwauling against billionaires (who, it must be said, were almost entirely the beneficiaries of state lockdowns and expansionary monetary policy), lobbying for reparations, and endorsing other forms of social and economic “justice.” These, one can be reasonably sure, will continue into and through Biden’s inauguration on January 20. And predictably, the perennial favorite “trickle-down”––usually paired with ‘economics’ or ‘policies’––is back in vogue.