You've seen the headlines and maybe watched Gary Stevensons YT channel.
U.K. and U.S. deficits balloon as borrowing surges.
Billionaire wealth hits record highs while workers' wages flatline.
Everyone is asking: Are they connected because it seems something isn’t adding up.
The Smoking Gun: Policy Choices
Governments now are full of career politicians or consist of wealthy individuals making deliberate decisions turbocharged it:
- Tax cuts for the wealthy (like Trump's 2017 law and U.K. corporate breaks) shrank public coffers while inflating elite fortunes.
- Quantitative easing after 2008 and COVID sent stock/real estate prices soaring—great if you own assets, irrelevant if you rely on a paycheck.
- Austerity programs (remember post-2010 Britain?) slashed social safety nets but left wealth untouched.
Result? Deficits widen. Inequality explodes.
The "Invisible Hand" or a Rigged System?
This isn't conspiracy it's structural bias:
1. Tax architecture favors capital over labor:
- In the U.S., the top 1% pays a lower effective tax rate than the bottom 50%.
- Offshore havens hide 7–10 trillion in elite wealth (Tax Justice Network).
2. Political influence: Lobbyists draft bills, think tanks justify trickle-down myths, and donors ensure policies protect capital.
3. Asset inflation feedback loops: Cheap debt lets the rich borrow to buy more assets → prices rise → inequality deepens.
Why This Isn't "Just Economics"
When deficits balloon, we're told:
"We must tighten belts cut pensions, schools, healthcare."
But the wealthiest never face that choice. Their safety net is policy itself.
Breaking the Cycle
Change starts by naming the game:
- Tax wealth, not just work.
- Invest in public goods (education, healthcare) to boost real mobility. Mass grassroots financial education.
- Democracy isn't a luxury good.
Our Turn
What shocks you most? That the system allows this or that we've normalised it? Share your thoughts below.
Share this post if you believe economies should work for people, not portfolios.
