yeah, but it was repurposed for that. "pulling yourself up by your bootstraps" also has its origins in a saying referring to something that is impossible, but was later repurposed into having the opposite connotation for most people.

Thanks. I learned something. I grew up hearing it discussed seriously in the 1980s, by which time I'm not sure everyone remembered the critical origin you identify. As I remember it, during the Reagan/Thatcher years many people treated the matter of whether and how the wealth would trickle down as a real live question.