Among the reasons commonly cited for plastic surgery, trickle-down economics is rarely invoked. Yet the market forces unleashed by Ronald Reagan's laissez-faire policies may have helped set in motion one of the U.S.'s favorite avenues of upward mobility. In 2009, Americans spent about $10.5 billion on plastic surgery, according to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. That's about 20 percent less than they paid in 2007-a drop that can be attributed to the recession and Botox's migration down the price ladder from the doctor's office to the spa. And that's about as much money as governments and institutions pledged to the victims of the 2010 Haitian earthquake. At least we have our priorities straight.
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