Are Republican Party policies the root cause of nearly all of our problems?

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

The repeal of Glass-Steagall was bipartisan, and Gramm-Leach-Bliley was only the final nail in the coffin after several decades of the law being bent under both Democrats and Republicans in order to keep American banks competitive with banks in other countries that were not constrained by such laws.  "Greed is Good" is not really what this was about, though maybe the small number of left-wingers who opposed it look better in hindsight than the experts who told us that Glass-Steagal was holding us back.

What do "trickle-down" and "middle-out" economics mean, in practical terms? 

What's so great about "progress"?  Is something better just because it is new?  What is it we are supposed to be progressing towards?