Class warfare! That’s what Republicans call it when Democrats talk about the need to address the problem of growing economic inequality in the United States. They claim that it’s wrong to focus attention on the growing concentration of wealth in the hands of a tiny minority of corporate executives and […] Read more »
The Middle Class Is Steadily Eroding. Just Ask the Business World.
… As politicians and pundits in Washington continue to spar over whether economic inequality is in fact deepening, in corporate America there really is no debate at all. The post-recession reality is that the customer base for businesses that appeal to the middle class is shrinking as the top tier […] Read more »
State of the Union 2014: The cognitive power of the President
There are enough people guessing what the president will do. This is about what he almost certainly won’t do, but what I would like him to do. The president has material power without the Congress, and personally, I would like to see him use it. … Beyond material power, the […] Read more »
Deficit Reduction Declines as Policy Priority
For the first time since Barack Obama took office in 2009, deficit reduction has slipped as a policy priority among the public. Overall, 63% say reducing the budget deficit should be a top priority for Congress and the president this year, down from 72% a year ago. … As in […] Read more »
The Tea Party and the Hammock Theory of Poverty
The increased focus on inequality has shifted the conversation away from deficit/austerity mania and towards a discussion of what government should be doing to boost the economy and protect people from economic harm. And it’s also prompted good new polling that goes deep into public views of the economy, the […] Read more »
The Politics Behind The Economic Fairness Debate
… It should come as no surprise that lower-income voters are reliably Democratic. However, Democrats need to do more than just “win” these voter; they need to carry them by a significant margin in order to succeed at the ballot box. In the 2006 wave election that swept Democrats into […] Read more »