The old guard of a party that laid the groundwork for the election of a two-term president watches with unease at what’s happening to their electoral prospects and economic policy proposals. It could be a description of the Republican Party, but it applies to the Democratic Party, too.
That alarm shines through in a new 52-page report from centrist Democratic think tank the Third Way, which unveiled a raft of policy proposals last week designed to rebut populist messagesthat they say could lead to a washout for the partyin next year’s election campaign.
“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.”
Third Way says a better agenda focuses on growth by promoting skills, job growth and wealth creation without adding to deficits or raising taxes on the middle class. Its report outlines a series of policies it says can do this, including new employer-provided pension savings programs and a plan that promotes mortgage-equity buildup.
The gist of the report concludes that the economic problems facing the American middle class have less to do with unfairness—or the idea that the system is fundamentally “rigged” against workers—and more to do with technological and globalization forces that can’t be reversed.
The report spotlights a divide on the left in both substance and style. Progressives say Democrats have run astray by pushing establishment-friendly policies that are beholden to corporate interests. Trade policy is the clearest example of the divide, but it also extends to regulation of Wall Street and tax and labor policy.
The champions of this bolder progressive vision include presidential candidate and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist who was initially written off by much of the party until he filled arenas with thousands of supporters and raised millions of dollars from small donors this summer. He has called for tougher curbs on money in politics to break the influence of banks and corporations in setting policy.
Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio also warned against relying on “half-measures” and becoming “overawed” by political limitations—a pre-emptive shot at the types of ideas outlined in the Third Way report—at the rollout of a separate proposal by the Roosevelt Institute, a liberal think tank, this spring.
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2015/11/06/economic-policy-splits-democrats/?mod=WSJBlog
Let's hope common sense prevails in the democratic party.
That alarm shines through in a new 52-page report from centrist Democratic think tank the Third Way, which unveiled a raft of policy proposals last week designed to rebut populist messagesthat they say could lead to a washout for the partyin next year’s election campaign.
“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.”
Third Way says a better agenda focuses on growth by promoting skills, job growth and wealth creation without adding to deficits or raising taxes on the middle class. Its report outlines a series of policies it says can do this, including new employer-provided pension savings programs and a plan that promotes mortgage-equity buildup.
The gist of the report concludes that the economic problems facing the American middle class have less to do with unfairness—or the idea that the system is fundamentally “rigged” against workers—and more to do with technological and globalization forces that can’t be reversed.
The report spotlights a divide on the left in both substance and style. Progressives say Democrats have run astray by pushing establishment-friendly policies that are beholden to corporate interests. Trade policy is the clearest example of the divide, but it also extends to regulation of Wall Street and tax and labor policy.
The champions of this bolder progressive vision include presidential candidate and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist who was initially written off by much of the party until he filled arenas with thousands of supporters and raised millions of dollars from small donors this summer. He has called for tougher curbs on money in politics to break the influence of banks and corporations in setting policy.
Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio also warned against relying on “half-measures” and becoming “overawed” by political limitations—a pre-emptive shot at the types of ideas outlined in the Third Way report—at the rollout of a separate proposal by the Roosevelt Institute, a liberal think tank, this spring.
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2015/11/06/economic-policy-splits-democrats/?mod=WSJBlog
Let's hope common sense prevails in the democratic party.
