Baseline Scenario

By James Kwak David Brancaccio of Marketplace has started a new radio project called Econ Extra Credit: reading a first-year economics textbook, one chapter per week, along with his listeners. Luckily, he chose one of the textbooks produced by the CORE project, a group of economists who set out to rewrite the economics curriculum in the wake of the financial crisis and Great Recession. David invited me to talk with him about “Economics 101” and the one-sided impression of the world that...

By James Kwak David Brancaccio of Marketplace has started a new radio project called Econ Extra Credit: reading a first-year economics textbook, one chapter per week, along with his listeners. Luckily, he chose one of the textbooks produced by the CORE project, a group of economists who set out to rewrite the economics curriculum in the wake of the financial crisis and Great Recession. David invited me to talk with him about “Economics 101” and the one-sided impression of the world that...

By James Kwak The scene: Two well-dressed, fully employed people sitting at a table in the chic café at their workplace. Martha: Do you like your health plan? George: I love it. Martha: How much do you pay for your plan? George: About $550 per month.* Martha: Do you have a deductible? George: I have a $1,000 deductible for my whole family. Martha: What about co-payments? George: I have to pay 20% of the cost for hospital stays and outpatient surgery. Martha: What if you just want to see...

By James Kwak The scene: Two well-dressed, fully employed people sitting at a table in the chic café at their workplace. Martha: Do you like your health plan? George: I love it. Martha: How much do you pay for your plan? George: About $550 per month.* Martha: Do you have a deductible? George: I have a $1,000 deductible for my whole family. Martha: What about co-payments? George: I have to pay 20% of the cost for hospital stays and outpatient surgery. Martha: What if you just want to see...

By James Kwak Ever since I finished Economism (and the 2016 elections, which happened about the same time), there has only been one thing I have wanted to write. I tried in “The Importance of Fairness: A New Economic Vision for the Democratic Party,” and in “A New Economic Vision, in 27 Words,” and again in “Hey Democrats, the Problem Isn’t Jobs and Growth.” I wanted to write this thing because it has become clear to me not only that our economic world is screwed up in all sorts of...

By James Kwak Chapter 2 of Take Back Our Party made the case that the market-centric policies of the Democratic establishment have failed to do anything about—and in many cases have exacerbated—the rise of inequality. Chapter 3 continues the indictment, arguing that the “growth and opportunity” doctrine of Clinton and Obama has also failed as politics. The New Democrats chose to identify themselves as the party of jobs and growth because they did not want to be seen as the party of...

By James Kwak The Democratic Party is at a crossroads. On a host of issues, it is clear what we stand for and how we differ from the Republicans: minority rights, abortion, immigration, gun control, climate change, the importance of facts, and, of course, whether or not the president is above the law. On economic issues, however, the picture is not so clear. Elizabeth Warren’s speech at St. Anselm’s College on Thursday is an attempt to fix that problem—and also a shot across the bow of...

By James Kwak Today’s installment of my new book, Take Back Our Party, evaluates the quarter-century reign of the Clinton-Obama axis over Democratic economic policy. (Chapter 1, if you missed it, is a historical account of the rise of the New Democrats and what they did once in power.) The picture is not a pretty one, no matter how you look at it. This chart, for example, shows the distribution of economic growth across different groups in the income distribution: (Data are from...

By James Kwak Chapter 1 of my new book is now available at The American Prospect. (If you missed the introduction, you can find all the chapters here as they are released). This chapter, “Their Democratic Party,” is a brief history of the takeover of the party by the New Democrats in the 1980s and 1990s. It describes how, in the aftermath of the crushing electoral defeats of 1980 and 1984, a new generation of party leaders—including Bruce Babbitt, Chuck Robb, Lloyd Bentsen, and of...

By James Kwak After Simon’s book with Jon Gruber earlier this year, it’s my turn to release a book. Take Back Our Party: Restoring the Democratic Legacy is now available starting today at The American Prospect. Actually, today the introduction is available. The remaining chapters will be released between now and Wednesday next week. As David Dayen (executive editor of the Prospect) said, now that we’re in the Second Gilded Age, we’re adopting one of the publishing models of the First...