I think many people stopped believing in trickle-down economics once the financial crisis and the Great Recession came, and I don't think they are going to start believing in it again. Will the GOP move leftward on economics in the future (essentially adopt the same economic policy they had before Reagan came to power) in an attempt to capture some economically liberal voters? Or will they remian extremely conservative on economics and continue to favor the wealthy at the expense of ordinary Americans?
Nah, I think Free-Market economics are as alive as ever. I think once the New Right movement dies down (whenever that'll be) we'll see the party shift left socially. But laissez-faire policies (or at least laissez-faire rhetoric) have been a the binding factor of the party for at least the last 30 years.
The Republicans do not support lassiez-faire economics. They just say they do. The Republicans support the Federal Reserve, which is in itself a contradiction of laissez-faire principles. Also Bush supported Greenspan when Greenspan blew up the housing bubble, which is against laissez-faire principles since it is an example of massive govt. intervention in the economy where it is unnecessary. BTW, there is a difference between trickle-down economics and laissez-faire economics. Trickle-down economics means that the govt. should pursue policies that favor the wealthy (often by interfering in the economy). Laissez-faire economics means that the govt. and the Federal Reserve need to butt out of the economy as much as possible. I think that a lot of people stopped believing in trickle-down economics after the financial crisis occured (similar to how they started believing once hyperinflation was defeated under Reagan's watch). So I'm not sure if continuing to pursue trickle-down economics in the future will not ultimately become a liability for the GOP. Remember, many GOP members turned against trickle-down economics after they lost 5 presidential elections in a row between 1932 and 1948. I think that if the GOP loses at least three Presidential elections in a row, it might have a similar effect on the GOP.
Like I said, Republicans are often more laissez-faire in rhetoric than in practice. Bush is considered a disaster by many because, outside of what it's believed he did to the country, he disguised his big-government tendencies under the guise of tax cuts and patriotism. If there's one things the republicans are good at, it's confusing people as to what exactly the free market is. But there are still a good amount of people who are aware that the free market is not properly represented in politics. I think the dividing factor of the two parties will, as it has been for most of our history, be economic in nature.
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