"When has trickle down econ ever worked?"
That poverty has not ended because of tde, doesn't not mean that tde didn't make things better than they were without it.
Where do you think wealth (that you think doesn't trickle down) goes? It has to be saved, invested or spent; all of which help lift people out of poverty. The only other place it can go is in bags in a basement somewhere, or in the hands of the government.
Putting wealth in the hands of government does not lift people out of poverty; does not now, never has never will. Poor people need opportunity to lift themselves out of poverty.