It’s a common refrain in American politics: Republicans bring economic growth, while Democrats burden the economy with taxes, regulation and spending. This narrative has been reinforced for decades, ultimately shaping elections and voter perceptions.
But when we look at the data, this belief doesn’t reflect reality. In fact, by most economic measures — GDP growth, job creation and stock market performance — the Democratic Party has historically outperformed the Republicans. So why, despite decades of evidence to the contrary, do so many Americans still believe Republicans are better for the economy?
At the core of the Republican economic narrative is a simple and appealing formula: lower taxes and deregulation will lead to more growth. In theory, this approach sounds logical. If businesses keep more of their profits, they’ll invest more, hire more workers and stimulate the economy. This is the essence of “supply-side” or “trickle-down” economics, a theory that gained prominence during the Reagan years and has dominated Republican economic thinking ever since.
Part of the appeal of this Republican economic policy lies in its immediate impact. Tax cuts provide instant gratification. You feel it in your paycheck almost immediately. Corporations report higher profits, and the stock market often rises on the news of corporate tax reductions. These are tangible, short-term wins that create the perception of economic growth.
In practice, Republican administrations have presided over the start of the last five recessions. Reagan’s tax cuts combined with a significant increase in defense spending tripled the national debt during his presidency. George W. Bush turned the Clinton-era surplus into a massive deficit through tax cuts and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Trump administration’s 2017 tax overhaul promised that corporate tax cuts would spark a wave of new investment and wage growth. Instead, it will cost $1.9 trillion over the next 10 years and more than triple the total value of tax cuts received by the top 1-5% of households than those with incomes in the bottom 60%.
Though in theory tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations should provide long-term boosts, this has repeatedly failed in practice. As a result of cuts, the federal deficit typically expands, and the benefits of these cuts disproportionately go to the wealthiest individuals and largest corporations. According to a 2012 study by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service, there is no significant correlation between lower tax rates on the wealthy and economic growth.
Meanwhile, despite being branded as “tax-and-spend” liberals, Democratic administrations have often presided over more balanced and inclusive growth. Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal played a crucial role in pulling the country out of the Great Depression. Bill Clinton left office with a budget surplus following years of rapid economic expansion. Barack Obama inherited the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression and led the country through a sustained recovery that saw 75 consecutive months of job growth along with a significant reduction in the deficit.
The evidence is undeniable: Democratic policies have generally been better for the broader economy – particularly for the middle and working-class Americans – tending to focus on policies that promote shared prosperity, from expanding access to education and healthcare to raising the minimum wage and protecting labor rights.
Take the Obama administration’s investment in clean energy, health care and education through the 2009 stimulus package. Critics argued the stimulus didn’t do enough to immediately revive the economy, but these investments laid the groundwork for long-term growth, particularly in sectors that are now central to the U.S. economy.
The persistence of the Republican economic myth is also fueled by the media ecosystem, particularly the conservative media. Right-wing media outlets like Fox news paint Democratic policies, particularly any form of government intervention or regulation, as inherently anti-business and damaging to growth.
This selective storytelling reinforces the idea that the Republican economic policies are superior, even when the data tells a different story. Under Obama, for instance, the stock market more than doubled, unemployment plummeted, and the economy added millions of jobs. Yet conservative media consistently portrayed his policies as hostile to business and responsible for “slow” recovery. In contrast, during the Trump administration, even as deficits soared and the economy grew slower than under Obama, the narrative was that Trump’s policies were creating a “historic” economic boom.
America didn’t always have an economy so skewed in favor of the rich. In fact, for much of the 20th century, the U.S. prospered under a tax structure that seems unimaginable today. During the postwar economic boom, top marginal tax rates reached over 90%, and yet this was a period of remarkable prosperity. The American middle class thrived, wages grew and the country built some of its most crucial infrastructure, from the interstate highway system to public universities.
By gutting the progressive tax system, Reagan shifted the burden onto the middle and working classes, entrenching a trickle-down ideology that has left us with rampant inequality and increased national debt. And yet, the wealthy and corporations sold this model to the public as the only path to prosperity. They hijacked the narrative and branded high taxes and government intervention as “un-American” despite the fact that these very tools had built the most prosperous and equitable economy the country had ever known.
This isn’t just a matter of failed policy — it’s a systemic campaign of corporate greed and manipulation. With their endless lobbying and political donations, corporations have convinced generations of Americans that reducing their taxes will somehow benefit the entire country, despite all evidence to the contrary. They’ve weaponized a false sense of economic freedom, framing any attempt to rein in corporate excess as a threat to individual liberty. The result is an economy that benefits the few at the expense of the many, with stagnant wages, weakened labor power and crumbling public infrastructure.
But we must remember that these Republican policies are not a permanent feature of the American economy. They are not inevitable. We’ve been here before, and we know that the economy is not built on tax cuts and corporate profits alone. It thrives when there is real investment in people, when policies ensure that prosperity is shared across all income levels, and when the government plays an active role in balancing growth with fairness.
These ideas, now framed as “radical” by Republicans, are rooted in the very policies that built America’s middle class.
It’s time to reject the Reagan-era dogma of trickle-down economics and stop treating it as a permanent feature of American life. It was always a policy designed to serve the few at the expense of the many, and it always will be. It’s time we reclaim the tools that once built a fairer, more prosperous America. The future of the economy, and the well-being of millions of Americans, depends on it. The data, after all, speaks for itself.
Owen Puckett is a senior studying political science. Do you agree that the Democratic party is better for the economy? Send all comments to opinion@dailycardinal.com
