All that said, it probably made sense to give this a shot back in 1981, given the dire state of the economy and before we had actual evidence of its possible ineffectiveness. But why in the world did Republicans try it after they should have known better?
Listen, we try hard to always be positive. We try hard to give people the benefit of the doubt, and to not point fingers and constantly play the blame game. But there are times when there is simply no option but to call people out: The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 was outrageous in its irresponsibility.
We're not saying there is never a time and place for tax cuts. There certainly can be. But this tax cut was one of the largest financial heists in American history – the crazies officially took over the asylum and they had your checkbook. Once again, a Republican-led Congress passed a tax bill that ensured the wealthiest Americans and already majorly flush corporations won. Bigly.
This is certainly not us with a pitchfork, gunning for rich people. In fact, we think we need to cut rich people some slack. It seems like lately they have been demonized for things that are realistically not their fault. We get that many Americans are frustrated, especially now, but taking it out on rich people seems petty, bitter and jealous, and that’s just not the American way.
It’s not difficult to see why super uber duper rich people are sometimes villainized in today’s America. For one thing – although it’s an entirely unfair thought – it’s easy to believe that it’s impossible for someone to make that much money without some sort of moral deficiency or shady behavior.
Plus, it’s not easy to reconcile social justice and capitalism. On one hand, you have the promise of the American Dream, where every American can achieve success and prosperity, regardless of their originating circumstances. On the other hand, you have statistics that reveal a shocking level of income inequality in America.
It can also be maddening when money seems to make life so much easier, at least in the short-term, for people who do bad things (à la Jeffrey Epstein) or super entitled things (college admissions bribery scandal).
Listen, we have seen people born in the most devastating conditions imaginable work four jobs just to pay the bare minimum of their bills. We have also seen plenty of people raised with a ton of money and opportunity who have crashed and burned.
However – from our experience and with minor exceptions – this last group seems to miraculously rebound virtually unscathed from their mistakes and bad decisions. Redemption seems to come much easier when you can afford rehab and qualified attorneys. It’s funny how prosperity can hide a multitude of sins.
But these are separate issues that seem to get unfairly wound up in one another. The truth is that most wealthy Americans not only greatly enhance our society and democracy, but they are also incredible public relations ambassadors for the United States on a global scale. As a nation, many of them make us all look good.
Over a billion people worldwide have emerged from poverty in the past two decades. There is no question that Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates deserve a ton of the credit for this. Since its founding, the Gates Foundation has had over $102.3 billion in total charitable spending on everything from American education, health care, and social justice to increasing economic opportunities and providing emergency relief overseas.
Dolly Parton, already a national treasure, gave $1 million to the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in early 2020 to help fund research efforts for COVID-19. Her contribution helped lead to the Moderna vaccine. Plus, Dolly’s Imagination Library charitable organization has sent over 270 million books to children since 1995. She’s just a gem… so much so that Jeff Bezos gave her $100 million to charitably give as she sees fit.
Over 250 of the world’s wealthiest individuals and families from 30 different countries have signed The Giving Pledge. The Giving Pledge was introduced by Bill Gates, Melinda French Gates and Warren Buffett in 2010 to “help address society’s most pressing problems by inviting the world’s wealthiest individuals and families to commit more than half of their wealth to philanthropy or charitable causes either during their lifetime or in their will.”
This is just an extraordinary thing for these people to do (although, we must admit, we probably wouldn’t feel as good about it if we were one of their kids!).
MacKenzie Scott – who is just a stone-cold bad ass – has given away $26 billion since 2019, donating almost $7.2 billion in 2025 alone. Her focus is institutions that educate underserved and at-risk students, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribal Colleges, and nonprofits working on climate change. She donated around $6 billion during the pandemic, mostly to places like Meals on Wheels, food banks, and other organizations that greatly helped Americans survive the COVID-19 crisis. Other funds went to organizations like the NAACP, Easterseals, Goodwill, the United Way, and over 100 separate YMCA and YWCA organizations.
One question we've heard repeatedly, asked in response to these huge donations, is: While the generosity is greatly appreciated, why do we live in a country where this is even possible? How can these people even have that much money to give when many others can’t even put food on their table?
Again, we understand the frustration behind this question, especially these days, and we really dig into this and other social justice issues throughout this website. But for now, maybe we should show a little more gratitude. All in, Americans donated a record $592.5 billion to charity in 2024 alone.
That number is enormous. It’s a shame there is no line item for this on the U.S. Balance Sheet because it’s nearly impossible to quantify exactly how much this generosity boosts the entire American economy – but there is no question it has a significant impact.
Rich people also spend lots of money, which, although not to the degree advertised by the Republicans, does indeed help spark economic growth. The top 10 percent of U.S. households account for 49.7 percent of all spending. Moody’s Analytics estimates that this spending alone is responsible for around one-third of our gross domestic product.