Pioneering sociologist William Graham Sumner conjured up the image of the ‘forgotten man’—the citizen who quietly pays a lot to government but gets little in return. Some have invoked this concept to explain Donald Trump’s presidential victory, but today’s true forgotten man (and woman) isn’t the current taxpayer, but rather the future taxpayer stuck with the tab for the U.S. government’s recent borrowing spree.

Jody W. Lipford is a professor of economics at Presbyterian College in Clinton, S.C.
Bruce Yandle is Alumni Distinguished Professor of Economics, Emeritus and Dean Emeritus, Clemson University and co-editor of Regulation and the Reagan Era.
Contemporary PoliticsEconomyFederal Budget PolicyFiscal Policy/DebtGovernment and PoliticsTaxes and Budget
Other Independent Review articles by Jody W. Lipford
Fall 2023 How Big Things Get Done: The Surprising Factors That Determine the Fate of Every Project, from Home Renovations to Space Exploration and Everything in Between
Summer 2021 A Fiscal Cliff: New Perspectives on the U.S. Federal Debt Crisis
Summer 2020 Is the Welfare State Crowding Out Government’s Basic Functions?: An Update
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Other Independent Review articles by Bruce Yandle
Fall 2022 Gaining Ground: Markets Helping Government
Summer 2020 The Next Fifty Years: Optimistic or Pessimistic?
Spring 2020 Narrative Economics: How Stories Go Viral and Drive Major Economic Events
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