*SHOCKED* Study reveals that trickle-down economics doesn't work.

[mileslunn]

It is a bit more complicated and depends on many factors.  For starters excessively high taxes on rich can stunt growth or encourage them to move elsewhere so if top rate is excessive and cut it can be beneficial.  Likewise many top rate cuts weren't actual cuts, but rather broadening of the base and then lowering rates.  Actual amount wealthy pay in taxes vs. topline marginal rates is more useful.  For example, Trump tax cuts mostly blew a hole due to corporate tax cuts and lower and middle income tax cuts.  For top earners, yes rates went down, but many itemized deductions like mortgage deduction and SALT were further limited.  In fact deductions and loopholes tend to distort growth and so simplifying it where each dollar earned no matter how it is earned is treated the same is better for growth.  Many who talk about sky high top rates in 60s compared to now forget you had way more deductions as well as base was much narrower.

Now yes it is true, if you cut top rates without raising elsewhere and they are already competitive, they don't tend to pay for themselves, see Bush tax cuts.  Like most policies, this is far more nuanced and its not as simple as trickle down economics works or doesn't work.  Rather devil is in details and also depends on circumstances.  If you look on topic on Laffer curve, that in many ways tells you a lot since if top rate is on wrong side of Laffer curve, tax cuts for rich do generally work, but if on right side of it, then they don't tend to work.