Donald Trump wants you to think that he’s bringing back the “Golden Age” of economic prosperity of the 1950s and 1960s.

But in reality, he’s dragging us toward something else. The Gilded Age of the 1890’s.

Pop quiz. Which of these would you prefer?

Dirty meat? 

Or meat that's safe to eat?

Deadly working conditions and no weekends off?

Or safe working conditions and spending time with friends on a Saturday?

If you picked dirty meat and deadly work conditions, well, then the Gilded Age is the choice for you!

But seriously, nobody wants this, except apparently, Donald Trump. 

That’s because the Gilded Age was dominated both economically and politically by a privileged elite — largely at the expense of everyone else. 

You want to know the main difference between Trump’s Gilded Age and the prosperity of the 1950s? Worker power. 

During the Gilded Age, organized labor was weak, corporations were largely unregulated, and inequality was rampant.

In the 1950s, the opposite was true. Thanks to the efforts of progressive reformers and organized labor in the first half of the 20th century, workplaces were safer and workers gained more bargaining power.

By 1954, 35% of American workers were union members, corporate taxes were around 50%, and the top marginal tax rate on the wealthiest Americans was 91%.

In the three decades that followed World War Two, America created the largest middle class the world had ever seen. During those years, the earnings of the typical American worker doubled, just as the size of the American economy doubled.

The country, while still imperfect, shrunk inequality dramatically. 

That is exactly what Trump and his Republican allies want to roll back. He wants the rich to be richer, unions to be weaker, and everyone else to be easier to exploit.

So next time you hear him talking about how much wealthier Americans will be, thanks to him, remember that he’s not talking about you.