In mid-19th century America, free lunch was a common term. It denoted the free food that saloon keepers used to attract drinkers. But saloon customers ended up paying for the food in the price of the drinks they were obliged to consume.
In 1981, President Reagan started serving up big meals for the rich. His trickle-down economic theory advocated reducing taxes on businesses and the wealthy to stimulate investments. This would conjure up an economic miracle where government revenues would actually rise enough to pay for the tax cuts.
However, the national debt nearly tripled and the U.S. went from being the world’s largest creditor to the world’s largest debtor during those eight Reagan years.
Back to the future, the Grand Old Party has spent years talking about tax reform and a sweeping rewrite of the tax code. But what we see is the same massive giveaway to all those adorable billionaires and their babies.