Rich Get Richer, Mainstream Media Just Noticed
According to The Independent , drawing on an Oxfam report, America’s top 10 richest individuals collectively saw their wealth surge by $700 billion during the Trump administration. This headline, while attention-grabbing, frames it almost as a natural phenomenon. The 'elephant in the room' they conveniently tiptoe around? The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which disproportionately favored
corporations and the ultra-wealthy, permanently slashing the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21% and cutting the top individual income tax rate, while working-class tax cuts were set to expire. (One might call that a rather direct wealth transfer mechanism.) So, when the economic system is specifically tailored to funnel wealth upwards, should we really be shocked when the wealthy get wealthier?
It’s less a 'report' on a new discovery and more a casual observation of gravity after pushing a bowling ball off a cliff. The puzzle isn't how they got richer, but why mainstream outlets still frame it as a surprise rather than the intended outcome of specific legislative choices. Perhaps they're too busy debating the 'optics' of billionaires to discuss the policy that created them.