In what should surprise no one, the global credit crisis is trickling down to Africa. The theory of supply-side economics, popularized though not invented during the American presidency of Ronald Reagan, holds that prosperity at the top ends of the economy has a trickle-down effect that benefits everyone. In effect, supply side economics formalizes the argument that a rising tide lifts all boats. But supply side economics have hardly been proven to be a panacea and its skeptics appear to have been on solid ground that the theory was largely a chimera that allowed the justification of policies benefiting the wealthy. But it seems that there is a sort of reverse supply side economics: When the purveyors of wealth go awry, we all pay the price. In a twist of bitter irony, bad times trickle down more quickly, and in more of a waterfall, than do good times.
