Mike Tyson sure was right!
Now that I have your attention 鈥� this isn鈥檛 really about Mike Tyson.
It鈥檚 about something he once said.
He was training for an upcoming fight when, as the story goes, a reporter asked him about his opponent鈥檚 plan to beat him.
Tyson responded, 鈥淓verybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.鈥�
That鈥檚 exactly what happened to Liz Truss, the ex-British Prime Minister 鈥� just days after she settled into her new job.
She had a 鈥減lan鈥� to turbocharge the flagging British economy. That 鈥減lan鈥� got punched in the mouth, days after she introduced it.
Consequently, she found herself stepping aside from her job, just 44 days after she stepped into it. (Her campaign for prime minister lasted 58 days)
Truss鈥� rise, then demise was the second of three British heads of state this year. Boris Johnson resigned under pressure before Truss took the reins.
Now, it鈥檚 Rishi Sunak who鈥檚 in the smoldering hot seat.
He has his work cut out for him.
Truss left the British economy, which was already in chaos, in even more turmoil.
She鈥檇 officially become the prime minister when she met with a shockingly frail-looking Queen Elizabeth on Sept. 6.
The queen died just two days later, sending all of Great Britain into mourning for 11 days. And causing political activities to be curtailed until afterward.
On Sept. 23, Truss unveiled her bold economic 鈥減lan.鈥� Her downhill skid began with it.
She had announced she was going to slash taxes on the wealthy, supposedly helping to alleviate the runaway inflation that was crippling the British economy.
(In case you didn鈥檛 know it, or if Republicans haven鈥檛 openly highlighted it, since COVID-19, inflation has become a worldwide problem. Not just in the United States.)
If the Truss 鈥減lan鈥� seemed familiar, it鈥檚 because it was the same 鈥渢rickle-down鈥� mumbo jumbo that Republicans in this country have talked about for decades. It works 鈥� but only in speeches, and on Fox News 鈥� but not so much in reality.
Larry Kudlow, who once served as President Trump鈥檚 Director of the National Economic Council, was ecstatic when he heard about the new Prime Minister with that new trickle-down 鈥減lan鈥� baked in it.
鈥淟iz Truss has laid out a terrific supply-side economic plan. She is slashing tax rates and deregulating energy. I just love it,鈥� Kudlow beamed on his Fox Business Network show.
That鈥檚 the same Larry Kudlow, who wrote a column in December of 2007 in which he claimed that the economic policies (trickle-down again) of George W. Bush would lead to an economic boom and would expand the economy for decades.
Sadly, that column was published in the same month that the Great Recession began.
Kudlow was as off in his prediction now, as he was back in 2007.
Kudlow wasn鈥檛 alone.
Stephen Moore, another of those 鈥渢rickle-down鈥� gurus, was quick to worship at the altar of Liz Truss.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 exactly the right agenda of cutting taxes, reducing government spending, deregulating, moving back toward fossil fuels. It鈥檚 exactly what the United States should be doing,鈥� said Moore on Fox News.
Moore鈥檚 opinions aren鈥檛 always well-respected outside of Fox News.
He once made the bizarre statement during a debate in 2016, 鈥淚鈥檓 a radical on this. I鈥檇 get rid of a lot of these child labor laws. I want people starting to work at 11, 12.鈥�
But inside of the Fox universe, he鈥檚 in his glory when he can extoll the virtues of cutting taxes.
Too bad the Bank of England and Britain鈥檚 financial markets weren鈥檛 as happy with Liz Truss鈥� plan to cut taxes in the face of the worst cost-of-living crisis in decades.
She鈥檇 hardly had much time to unpack her bags when there were calls for her removal from 10 Downing Street.
To make matters worse, she tried to reverse her stated goals, leading to even more economic uncertainty.
Her 鈥減lan鈥� didn鈥檛 work. Her demise was swift. And her trickle-down devotees on this side of the Atlantic have been silent since.
Edward A. Owens is a multi-Emmy Award winner, former reporter, and anchor for Entertainment Tonight, and 50-year TV news and newspaper veteran. E-mail him at freedoms@bellatlantic.net.