A PROPOSAL FOR ANOTHER EFFORT BY CONCERENED ECONOMISTS TO GET SOME SANITY INTO THE PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN – WITH AN ASSUMPTION THAT HILARY CLINTON WILL RU N
1) When the financial crisis hit, a number of economists gathered in New York and came up with a detailed set of proposals for the New Administration that if enacted would have constituted a “New New Deal.” Sadly, none of these got traction either with the general public (who never learned about them) or the incoming Obama Administration (even though Jared Bernstein became Biden’s advisor). In this situation, what follows might be considered futile – doing the same thing and expecting a different result. Nevertheless, I think this effort is worth making. 2) I propose that a similar group attempt to put together an OPEN LETTER TO HILARY CLINTON – and all potential Democratic nominees for President – to be released in the Fall of 2015. (That should give us plenty of time to hammer out details and solicit support from unions, other groups from civil society, prominent individuals – as well as publicizing it fully over social media and outlets from Comedy Central to the various radio, cyberspace and even television talk shows.) 3) The theme of the open letter (in detail – we would have to work VERY HARD on creating a decent “executive summary” because of the details I think the document needs) would be on the order of “The question is not whether we’re ready for Hilary but whether Hilary is ready to make policy in 21st Century America.” (or we could generalize it for all potential Presidential candidates hoping the CONTENT will make it clear that it’s addressed to Hilary in particular.) 4) Hilary Clinton has a number of things going for her ___ her name recognition, the fact that she’s a woman, the fact that she allegedly has lots of foreign policy experience due to her service as Secretary of State, the fact that many democrats have “buyers remorse” thinking her Presidency would have been “better” than Obama’s, the fact that when Bill Clinton was President, the economy was supposedly “going great.” We need to make the point (made so well in Bob Pollin’s book CONTOURS OF DESCENT but also more circumspectly in Joe Stiglitz’s book THE ROARING NINETIES) that in fact the SEEDS of the financial crisis and the on-going inequality crisis (using the famous Saez-Piketty diagram) and the yawning trade deficit were the direct result of Clinton Administration policies (with lots of help from the Greenspan Fed). IN short, the first part of the manifesto needs to forthrightly argue that anyone thinking that a Hilary Clinton Administration (or any Democratic Administration) can wave a magic wand and re-create the 1990s needs to TRULY understand what happened during the 1990s. 5) A detailed critique of what was wrong with the polices of the Clinton Administration – despite SOME good things like raising the top rate on higher income taxpayers and raising the minimum wage – and staffing the NLRB with good people (don’t know about that one) – needs to be developed and presented – concisely but with detailed back-up. The overall impact of the economic policies during the Clinton years – especially in the area of financial regulation (in addition to all the deregulation that correctly cost Larry Summers the Chairmanship of the Fed, Clinton re-appointed Greenspan who was basking in his “maestro” garb!), buying into the demonization of budget deficits (which arguably has given the right wing a very effective cudgel ever since --- and of course Clinton was not the first democrat to fall for that line) and doing virtually nothing to reverse the inequality trend (arguably, NAFTA and the WTO and the “strong dollar” policy exacerbated those trends) was very negative for the long run health both of the economy and the well being of the 99%. 6) The manifesto then has to remind people that the disaster of the Bush years and the disappointments of the Obama years are a result of policies that had been in place more or less since the so-called Reagan Revolution – It is important to do this first to show we’re not partisan hatchet wielders against Bill and Hilary Clinton but more importantly because of the Republican mantra on how “wonderful” Ronald Reagan was and how successful America was in the years he was President. Left to their own devices the Republicans and Democrats in 2016 will be making this a campaign between Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton. The edge will be to Hilary of course for a variety of reasons but the stupidity of such a “contest” needs to be exposed. 7) FINALLY – the manifesto needs to include detailed descriptions of what changes will be necessary to “right” the economy for the benefit of the 99%. The Obama Administration’s celebration that there appears to be a faster rate of growth must be countered by the continued languishing of the vast majority of the people – that wage growth has been abysmal, that the percentage of the long-term unemployed is a national disgrace, and that the financial system has become even more rigged on behalf of the 99% . (We need to warn that the 1% are so brazen that they are not satisfied with the government rescues and guarantees they’ve enjoyed, but are now attempting to dismantle the miniscule movements towards sanity in our regulatory system passed in 2010.) We need a new regulatory structure, an administration willing to partner seriously with the Yellen Fed to promote full employment and an administration committed to serious efforts to reverse the inequality trends that after a brief interruption in 2008 and 2009 have continued unabated. 8) Once the details of the critique and set of proposals have been agreed upon, we need to solicit support far and wide – from mainstream economists of course, but mostly from high profile individuals – cultural, political, academic leaders from talk show hosts to Nobel prize winners, mayors, members of Congress, and representatives of Civil Society. Once we have a string of endorsements we need to hammer the message home in the Fall of 2015. Our goal – to make sure EVERY candidate for President – but especially Hilary Clinton – addresses each and every proposal and is forced to take them seriously. This means we will have to make sure that JOURNALISTS and those who lead discussions in all forms of media – from bloggers to MSNBC hosts, etc. --- publicize the contents and interview its creators. YES – this is a tall order – but it is definitely called for. So my question to you four is – in two parts – do you agree this is worth trying? AND --- what do we do next??
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