Can Democrats See What's Coming? by Ezra Klein,

[elleng]

who is coming up on Lawrence Show, MSNBC.

'If you had to distill the ambitions of the Democratic Party down to a single word, you might well choose “Denmark.” But “France” would also work. Or “Germany.” Any Western European nation, really, with the social insurance options many of us envy: universal health care and affordable child care, to name but a few. Much of modern American liberalism is designed to close those gaps, to build here what already exists there.

I hope to close those gaps, too. But what about building here what does not already exist there?

Over the past few years, social insurance programs did much to ease suffering, but it was mRNA vaccines that did the most to protect human life. And this points toward a place where American liberalism could dream bigger dreams. Most liberals can list the programs they want the government to create or expand. Fewer can name the five technologies they want the government to finance or the five scientific challenges they want to see it mobilize to solve. But technology is central to how we make the future look different from the past. To leave that to the market, or to think it apolitical, is abdication.

In an important speech at — sigh — Davos, Janet Yellen, the treasury secretary, began building a framework for those questions. The Biden administration, she said, was pursuing a “modern supply-side economics.” She argued that the economy isn’t growing as it could because it doesn’t have enough of what it needs. We need more workers, we need more roads and bridges and airports and broadband, we need more scientific breakthroughs — oh, and we need a stable climate, too. And to get all that, we need government.

. . .

My worry is rather the opposite: that the Biden administration’s supply-side agenda is stuck in the past and not yet imagining the future.'>>>

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/12/opinion/yellen-supply-side-liberalism.html

[JanMichael]

1. Supply Side? Really? By the guy who cowrote Trumponomics?

That Laffer dudes idea???????

Shit.

[KPN]

2. Ezra Klein is so darned smart. Wish he was more visible.

[msongs]

3. democrats can see they are being stabbed in the back by 2 people nt

[radius777]

4. Agree, the gov't needs to do more to solve

many scientific and medical challenges.

The market has no incentive to cure any disease, as there is too much money to be made on pharma and expensive treatments.

The market has no incentive to solve climate change.

The market has no incentive to care about much of what concerns citizens as a whole, only their bottom line and shareholders.

[Brainfodder]

5. ...and these old blowhard dinosaurs in congress won't live to see Miami and more underwater?

[elleng]

6. 'What about building here what already exists there?'

A lot of problems we need new things to solve.