The biggest story you've never heard about today's federal debt
https://robertreich.substack.com/p/the-biggest-story-youve-never-heardA half century ago, American’s wealthy financed the federal government mainly through their tax payments. Tax rates on the wealthy were high: Under Republican President Dwight Eisenhower, they were over 90 percent. Even after all tax deductions, the wealthy typically paid half of their incomes in taxes.
Since then — courtesy of Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush, and Donald Trump — the effective tax rate on wealthy Americans has plummeted. Even as they’ve accumulated unprecedented wealth, today’s rich are now paying a lower tax rate than middle-class Americans. (The 400 richest American families paid a tax rate of just 3.4 percent between 2014 and 2018, while the rest of us paid an average tax rate of 13.3 percent.)
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One of the biggest reasons the federal debt has exploded is that tax cuts on wealthier Americans have reduced government revenue.
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Hence the half-century switch: The wealthy used to pay higher taxes to the government. Now the government pays the wealthy interest on their loans to finance a swelling debt that’s been caused largely by lower taxes on the wealthy.
This means that a growing portion of your taxes are going to the wealthy in the form of interest payments, rather than paying for government services everyone needs.
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What should be done? Reduce the debt by raising taxes on the wealthy.
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that alone should have 
in GQP's base, let alone cutting to destroying SS, SSI, Medicare and Medicaid along with reducing, not raising wages, etc.
The viable conclusion, the wealthy and corporations pay their fair share of taxes.
But alas, the greedy who has brought politicians will fight tooth and nail to continue the steal.
He and that trickle down economy BS he sold American voters in 1980. President Clinton helped to get us out of that hole only to have Dubya shove us back in. 
would spend more time educating voters that trickle down economics doesn't work and how it affects
everything from the debt ceiling to their own paychecks. Robert Reich's video clips do a good job
of this and should be seen by everyone more often. 
The one-per-centers of the 1950's - and there weren't so many super wealthy people then - got tax breaks when they invested their money in business ventures, new factories, community improvements, etc. It wasn't that the government sucked up all the money - no! American business owners voluntarily invested in the future of our country and our economy. They created new jobs, new products, new factories, improved scientific research, more efficient farming practices, and so on down the line.
All Americans benefited from these corporate investments, since this was back when the "trickle-down economy" really worked. Our American economy grew like nothing ever seen in history. Until it stopped. Dead cold. The wealthy got greedy. During Reagan's first term the one-per-centers got the tax laws changed to benefit them and only them. Since the early 80's we've seen the rich getting richer and the rest of us either standing still or losing out.
I know I'm simplifying this to make the point. But it's a story we all know because we've lived it for most of our lives. Until the U.S. tax structures changes, it's hard times for about 95% of us.
