Notes for Next Time - Robert Kuttner

[justaprogressive]

We hear a lot about “affordability” as a theme that could unite Democrats. But let’s not kid ourselves about just what a heavy lift this will be.

I’ve just published a memoir, titled Notes for Next Time. The subtitle is “Surviving Tyranny, Redeeming America.” I’m an optimist on surviving Trump. But redeeming the kind of life chances that my generation enjoyed will be harder. Policies that merely take us back to 2020 won’t be sufficient.

Those of us born in the 1940s enjoyed a package that included college with no debt, good jobs with career security for blue-collar workers as well as professionals, and affordable housing whose value increased faster than inflation. I live like a millionaire on the income of a journalist thanks to unearned housing wealth.

That package is gone. The flip side of our housing windfall is astronomical costs of entry for our children and grandchildren. They begin economic life heavily in debt, just as reliable jobs and careers are vanishing.

This loss of life chances fed resentments that helped elect Donald Trump. Our would-be king has lately suffered several setbacks. But if we don’t restore a sense of broad economic possibility, we will keep nourishing right-wing populism, even if Democrats win in 2026 and 2028.

https://prospect.org/2026/03/31/notes-for-next-time-economic-opportunity-democrats-maga/]