August 13, 2026: The Argument That Never Settled

A phrase gets repeated every election cycle that almost nobody can actually define. This episode traces it back to where it started.On August 13, 1981, President Ronald Reagan signed the Economic Recovery Tax Act at his California ranch, cutting the top income tax rate from 70% to 50% and reducing capital gains and corporate taxes, the centerpiece of what became known as supply-side or trickle-down economics. The episode explains how the underlying theory actually works, walks through what his own budget director later admitted about the gap between its public explanation and private goals, and lays out the competing evidence, rising capital gains revenue and falling unemployment on one side, record peacetime deficits on the other, that economists still argue over more than four decades later.This is bsnsHistory, the daily podcast about the moments when business quietly reshaped the world.Written and hosted by Ron Trucks. Research and editing by Rodney Russ. Sound design by Angela Cahoy. Music by Cody Martin and Soundstripe.For more daily business stories, visit www.bsnsDAILYpodcasts.com