Lower Tax Rates Drive Stock Market Growth and Wealth Creation
Source: "STEPHEN MOORE: Lower tax rates fuel US stock boom from 800 to 50,000 Dow milestone | Fox News." February 10, 2026. www.foxnews.com
The Gist
Moore argues that cutting taxes is what made America's stock market explode from 800 to 50,000 points over 40+ years. He says this proves that when you lower tax rates on businesses and wealthy people, it creates more wealth for everyone, not less tax revenue.
Conclusion
Lower tax rates are the primary driver of America's extraordinary stock market growth from Dow 800 to 50,000, creating unprecedented wealth
Premises
- The Dow Jones has grown 60-fold from 800 in 1982 to 50,000 in 2026, representing the greatest period of wealth creation in world history
- American publicly traded companies are now worth more than $70 trillion, roughly equal to the rest of the world combined despite having only 5% of global population
- Tax rates have declined dramatically since 1981: top income tax from 70% to 39.6%, corporate rate from 46% to 21%, capital gains from 28% to 23.4%
- This wealth creation coincided with policies of pro-business presidents Reagan and Trump who implemented supply-side economics
- Despite lower tax rates, the wealthy now pay a higher share of total taxes, with the top 1% paying roughly 40% of income tax
- Supply-side economists like Steve Forbes, Arthur Laffer, and Larry Kudlow were proven correct about the growth effects of lower taxes
Assumptions
- Correlation between tax rate reductions and stock market growth implies causation
- Stock market performance is the primary measure of economic success and wealth creation
- Supply-side economic theory accurately explains the relationship between tax rates and economic growth
- The policies of Reagan and Trump were the decisive factors in driving market growth over other potential causes