Like most things that challenge people's world views, I've often had to deal with a lot of misconceptions about being a Marxist. For example, I often go on a long-winded rant about how people with less money are almost always more generous with their limited resources than are people with far more money. Those who don't like Marxism always accuse me of re-arranging reality to fit my political beliefs, when in reality, it is the exact opposite. A good deal of what pushed me to becoming a Marxist was noticing things like how the people I knew in my life who had little were always willing to help others out, while the people I knew who had plenty liked to keep their plenty for themselves. And it makes sense -- after all, you don't get rich by giving your money away.
Well, whether you believe my story of political evolution or not, at least the numbers back up my thinking. According to a recent study by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on consumer expenditure, the poor donate money at rates far exceeding the wealthy. You can read the article for specifics, but essentially the poorest 5th of Americans give at rates exceeding their capacity, the next two lowest 5ths give at capacity, and the top two 5ths give well below capacity.
I'll let you draw your own conclusions about that, but if nothing else, at least it offers solid evidence as to why trickle-down economics doesn't work...
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