Trickle Me, Elmo
Remember "Trickle Down Economics"? I believe it was a favourite Reaganeraism. "Trickle Down Economics". As in, "Rich People Getting Richer Means More Money For Servants And Accountants", I guess.
Well, whoever the lucky servants and accountants were, here's to ya.
Meanwhile, my beau - who has one of those minds, one of those... mindy mindful minds - said to the tv the other day, in response to some small business thingie decrying a minimum wage of $10.00 and invoking the tax cuts saviour so favoured by small business thingies these days with a rounding off tally ho mateys of, "the poor will benefit from the trickle down effect" - "WHY NOT HAVE THE RICH BENEFIT FROM THE TRICKLE UP EFFECT OF A $10.00 MINIMUM WAGE!"
You should try it. Shouting at the tv, I mean. It's fun because if you have a mute button, the tv just sits there in shock and awe, it's lips flapping wordlessly as its circuitry goes all swirly and doodly at your superiour wit and logic.
Anyway, in my ongoing attempt to re-invent myself (I'm a natural born reactionary, all my thoughts are based on my knee jerking) I actually took pause to digest this outburst and pronounce it quite fine.
"Hey! Can I steal that one for my blog entry tomorrow?"
"Trickle Up Economics?"
"Yeah."
"Sure, baby - it's yours."
And now it's yours, too, Dear Reader. Trickle Up Economics. I like it because it makes sense. Dollars and Cents. AND with trickle up economics, you can be sure the money stays in the economy HERE as opposed to zipping off to the economy of... oh... say... Bermuda. Or Switzerland. Or perhaps even just a travelling briefcase that calls no country home.
And raising the minimum wage eases that belt former Finance Minister, Paul Martin, so famously kept telling us to keep tightening because some day - OH SOME HOLY DAY OF JUSTICE - he'd make it worth our while.
Well, if he did, he's fucked off to greener pastures since, as far as I know - so to hell with him. I doubt he's comin' back. So I say we loosen our belts in his absence, demand our governments legislate good, decent, living wages tied to, not inflation or somesuch airy fairy notion of something or other, but those BIG BRASS BONUSES or somesuch real indicator of how well we are doing - economy-wise. Good, decent, living wages for ALL Canadians.
And leave the rest to Trickle Up Economics.
Yes, indeed. I'd much rather Joe Sixpack and Sally Housecoat make a decent wage and go spend it locally than Richie Rich and The Missus get another leg-up on tax cuts to add to their offshore pile.
But, of course, I would say that - wouldn't I.
Not being rich and all.
Still, there are more of us than there are of them, so... I say we go with Trickle Up Economics until something better comes along.
