Philo of Alexandria has a thoughtful post up on Reynolds' Law (yes, that Reynolds). For those Gentle Readers unfamiliar with it, here is Reynolds' Law.
The government decides to try to increase the middle class by subsidizing things that middle class people have: If middle-class people go to college and own homes, then surely if more people go to college and own homes, we’ll have more middle-class people.
Progressive doesn't bring the bottom earners up, it brings the top earners down. In Progressevism, everyone must be equally miserable, except for the elite few, of course.