Baseline Scenario

Can the United States grow faster, create more good jobs, and genuinely spread opportunity? Yes: by investing more in science and technology, by placing those investments strategically around the country, and by creating an Innovation Dividend – paying cash to all Americans every year, based on the success of public investments in the tech sector. What technologies should receive support?  Which cities have the potential to become the next generation tech hubs?  How do we ensure that...

It’s inequality. By James Kwak This American Life‘s forays into politics and economics are generally less satisfying than their ordinary storytelling fare. That’s especially true when they try to answer some specific question, like “What is wrong with the Democratic Party?”—the subject of a segment last month. The story did have some telling moments, however, most vividly when moderate Congresswoman Cheri Bustos was trying to pitch the party’s forgettable and already-forgotten “Better...

It’s inequality. By James Kwak This American Life‘s forays into politics and economics are generally less satisfying than their ordinary storytelling fare. That’s especially true when they try to answer some specific question, like “What is wrong with the Democratic Party?”—the subject of a segment last month. The story did have some telling moments, however, most vividly when moderate Congresswoman Cheri Bustos was trying to pitch the party’s forgettable and already-forgotten “Better...

By James Kwak My friend and co-founder Marcus Ryu wrote an op-ed in the Times today. Here’s how it begins: The tax cut framework recently put forward by President Trump relies on a central claim: that reducing taxes on corporations and wealthy individuals will open the wellsprings of entrepreneurship and investment, turbocharging job growth and the American economy. Were this premise true, reasonable people might countenance giving a vast majority of benefits to the very rich, as Mr....

By James Kwak My friend and co-founder Marcus Ryu wrote an op-ed in the Times today. Here’s how it begins: The tax cut framework recently put forward by President Trump relies on a central claim: that reducing taxes on corporations and wealthy individuals will open the wellsprings of entrepreneurship and investment, turbocharging job growth and the American economy. Were this premise true, reasonable people might countenance giving a vast majority of benefits to the very rich, as Mr....

By James Kwak A couple of weeks ago I posted a 6,000-word essay laying out a new economic vision for the Democratic Party. It kind of vanished into the ether, although Stephen Metcalf was kind enough to say this: Reupping. I really think this is a critical, possibly foundational, document, and I seriously urge anyone following my account to read it. https://t.co/CXRxe4OfhU — Stephen Metcalf (@Metlandia) June 16, 2017 So here it is, in 27 words: All people need a few basic things: An...

By James Kwak A couple of weeks ago I posted a 6,000-word essay laying out a new economic vision for the Democratic Party. It kind of vanished into the ether, although Stephen Metcalf was kind enough to say this: Reupping. I really think this is a critical, possibly foundational, document, and I seriously urge anyone following my account to read it. https://t.co/CXRxe4OfhU — Stephen Metcalf (@Metlandia) June 16, 2017 So here it is, in 27 words: All people need a few basic things: An...

By James Kwak A lot has been written recently about the direction of the Democratic Party. This is what I think. I have been a Democrat my entire life. Today, the Democratic Party matters more than ever because it is the only organization currently capable, at least theoretically, of preventing the Republicans from turning the United States into a fully-fledged banana republic, ruled by and for a handful of billionaire families and corporate chieftains, with a stagnant economy and...

By James Kwak A lot has been written recently about the direction of the Democratic Party. This is what I think. I have been a Democrat my entire life. Today, the Democratic Party matters more than ever because it is the only organization currently capable, at least theoretically, of preventing the Republicans from turning the United States into a fully-fledged banana republic, ruled by and for a handful of billionaire families and corporate chieftains, with a stagnant economy and...

By James Kwak As banking scandals go, Wells Fargo opening millions of new accounts for existing customers so that it could pump up its cross-selling metrics for investors is about as clear-cut as it gets. It’s up there with HSBC telling its employees how to get around U.S. regulations in order to launder money for drug cartels, or traders and treasury officials at several banks conspiring to fix LIBOR. Holding Wells responsible, however, was a bit trickier. The bank agreed to restitution...