This commentary is by Lee Russ of Bennington, who is a retired legal editor and freelance writer.
Conservatives these days are very, and I mean VERY, fond of the saying “A rising tide lifts all boats.” The saying, near as I can tell, is from a John F. Kennedy campaign speech at Canton Ohio, in September 1960.
As used by conservatives, the phrase appears to mean that the nation should worry only about its overall wealth, and pay no mind to how that wealth is distributed. It appears to mean, in practice, let the rich, rich people do what they want, because that will create wealth, and that wealth will end up benefitting all of us — a version of trickle-down economics.
Like all effective slogans, it’s short, memorable and makes a good initial impression. Many people’s gut reaction is “yeah, that makes sense,” as they picture a harbor of neatly anchored boats, all rising as a group as the tide comes in and falling as a group as the tide goes out.
That placid image starts to splinter pretty quickly when you look below the surface. Think a while and it’s obvious that the pleasant image, and the fundamental truth of the saying — a rising tide does, by God, lift all boats — have absolutely nothing to do with the economic trickle-down theory that now rides the slogan’s back.
First, the obvious fact: The truth of the saying is limited to those who have boats. If you’re walking around a sand bar when the tide comes in, you aren’t on the verge of getting lifted; you are about to be swamped. If the tide rises enough, you are about to drown. If you are part of the “boating class,” you’re in; if you are part of the “boatless class,” you’re in big trouble.
Second, the level of water in a harbor rises at the same rate everywhere. If you have a boat in the harbor, you will see the same rise in water level as everybody else who has a boat in the harbor. That is the exact opposite of what occurs in the real economic world.
A rise in the income tide absolutely does not occur evenly across the entire population. If you have been alive and alert over the last few decades as tax and other government policies shifted ever more sharply to favor wealth and capital and investors, you know without a doubt that prosperity and wealth do not rise evenly like tidal waters.
So why did John Kennedy say this phrase? He was certainly an intelligent man, and was surrounded by even smarter advisers and analysts. Was Kennedy announcing his belief in trickle-down theory? Hardly.
Here is the context in which that pithy, six-word phrase appears (emphasis mine):
“I think we must develop our natural resources. You cannot bring industry into Ohio unless you have clean rivers. I think the greatest asset that has happened to Ohio during the last few years, except for Governor Di Salle’s election, was the building of the St. Lawrence Seaway, and I was proud, though I came from Massachusetts, to vote for it, because it is a national asset and a rising tide lifts all boats. If Ohio moves ahead, so will Massachusetts. Good water, power, transportation, those are necessary to develop the economy of the United States in the 1960s.”
The full text of the speech is available here.
Nowhere in that paragraph will you find a belief in trickle-down economics.
Everywhere in that paragraph you will find recognition that infrastructure and the environment are key components of prosperity. You will find praise for a government project, the St. Lawrence Seaway, which was undertaken during the administration of Republican Dwight Eisenhower. You will find, in essence, recognition that national assets like the seaway, highways and available power all benefit the nation.
That really couldn’t be further from the idea for which the slogan is used by conservatives, that letting wealth accumulate in the hands of the already massively wealthy will somehow benefit those without wealth.
