RT Alec Stapp: A rising tide does in fact lift all boats
A chart shows that from 1967 to 2011, real income growth occurred across all income quintiles in the U.S., supporting the idea that a rising economic tide lifts all boats.
Background
- Paul Graham (@paulg) is a well-known tech investor, essayist, and co-founder of Y Combinator, the influential Silicon Valley startup accelerator.
- Alec Stapp is a writer and policy analyst who co-founded the Institute for Progress, a think tank focused on innovation and regulatory reform.
- "A rising tide lifts all boats" is a classic economic metaphor (often attributed to JFK) arguing that broad economic growth benefits all income levels, not just the wealthy.
- The tweet is re-sharing (RT) a chart or data point from Stapp that presumably shows real-world evidence supporting the claim that general economic growth improves outcomes for everyone, including the poor — a rebuttal to critics who argue that growth primarily enriches the top. The specific image is not visible here, but the context is the long-running debate between "trickle-down" proponents and those who believe growth is unevenly distributed.