Must-Read: Mark Thoma: ‘Economic Policy Splits Democrats’
Must-Read: No, I do not know anyone who thinks this is correct. The Rubin wing of the Democratic Party thinks, today, that it paid much too little attention to policies to stem the growth of inequality in the 1990s, and that for the late 2010s and 2020s we need to focus on growth and distribution–on, in a phrase, equitable growth:
: ‘Economic Policy Splits Democrats’: “Anyone think this is correct?:
[Nick Timiraos:] Economic Policy Splits Democrats, WSJ: The old guard… that laid the groundwork for… a two-term president watches with unease…. That alarm shines through in a new 52-page report from centrist Democratic think tank the Third Way…. “The right cares only about growth, hoping it will trickle down,” says Jonathan Cowan, president of Third Way. The left, meanwhile, is too focused on “redistribution to address income inequality.”… “This country is in real trouble,” Ms. Warren said at the May event. “The game is rigged and we are running out of time.” That kind of rhetoric gives Mr. Cowan fits because he says it isn’t a winning political message…. Third Way cites the failures of main street icons such as Kodak, Borders Books and Tower Records as proof that new technologies and delivery systems, as opposed to a “stacked deck” in Washington, are primarily responsible for economic upheaval…
Tower Records explains inequality? Seriously?… So, should I adopt a message I don’t think is true because it sells with independents who have been swayed by Very Serious People?… I’d rather convince people of the truth that more growth and more wealth creation won’t solve the problem if we don’t address workers’ bargaining power at the same time than gain their support by patronizing their views…. Maybe politicians have to tell people what they want to hear, I’ll let them figure that out, but I will continue to call it as I see it…