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http://www.dlc.org/Yes We Can CollaborateBy Harold Ford, Jr.
The congressional elections were tough on Democrats. But they have set the stage for a collaboration that can achieve the results that voters want: economic growth.
First, cut taxes on businesses and consumers. This can be done immediately by extending all the Bush tax cuts for 24 months -- except the inheritance tax, which should be left at its 2009 rate. The corporate tax rate should be slashed in half, to 17.5 percent for two years; and the payroll tax should be suspended for six months for every business and its workers.
Similarly, extending the Bush tax rates for two years and suspending the payroll tax for six months would free up capital for American families struggling to make ends meet, stimulate consumer demand and help small-business owners hire now and plan for the future.
Second, give the private sector some regulatory certainty, so it can spend on infrastructure and innovation and strengthen the U.S. economy. Onerous regulations and ambiguous regulatory processes make it difficult for companies in sectors like energy and telecommunications to invest in new technologies that would, among other things, help the United States use more of its own energy and make our Internet faster and more reliable.
Cut The Red TapeBy Paul Weinstein Jr. and Marc Dunkelman
Today, as Washington continues to struggle with the balance between economic stimulus and fiscal responsibility, we should look back to yesterday's successes and learn the right lessons. The laxity with which regulators watched over certain corners of Wall Street may have enabled a few wayward investments to contaminate the rest of the economy. But, on the whole, red tape and excessive bureaucracy remain a major stumbling block for American entrepreneurs.
Why Voters Are So Angry and Incumbents Are So ScaredBy Marc Dunkelman
Without the mission of winning history, Washington has more frequently come to be viewed -- particularly by Americans who came of age after the end of the Cold War -- as simply another bureaucracy that demands its revenue and provides too little in return. To them, the political debate turns less on ideology, and more on the bottom line. More than anything, they want government to be run by a capable board of directors, and a proficient chief executive. They want value for their dollar. And most of all, they want government to be competent.
Education Reform is a Defining IssueBy Harold Ford, Jr.
President Barack Obama's recent speech on education reform demonstrates that he is willing to put the full weight of his office behind fixing our failing schools. He called for higher standards, more charter schools, merit pay and eliminating bad teachers. When many of our urban school districts are graduating only 25 percent to 50 percent of their students, he knows that the failed methods and orthodoxies must be jettisoned for what will work.
While there is a broad national consensus for education reform in the country, Obama expects that special interests will oppose his reform agenda. Those who do will fight vigilantly to hold onto the failed schools that shame us as a nation.
But their actions will put them against the best interests of our children and on the wrong side of history. Teachers unions and education groups have expressed opposition in the past to ideas like merit pay and charter schools. They are strongly opposed to a successful voucher program in Washington, D.C., which tragically was killed by Senate Democrats in the omnibus spending bill that passed the Senate last week.
On behalf of the nation's children, Obama is prepared to take on members of his own party and the special interests. Along with turning around the economy, education reform could become the defining issue of his presidency.
Reaching Out to Wal-Mart Voters in the Forgotten Middle ClassBy Al From
According to an analysis of two recent elections, the list of counties in battleground states where voters are most likely to switch into the Democratic column tracks the list of counties where Wal-Mart is most saturated. Roughly half of the 468 counties that make up Florida, Ohio, Missouri, Colorado, and Virginia house at least one Wal-Mart. Those with the greatest saturation (the 120 counties with fewer than 20,000 residents per store) swung by an average of nearly 20 points from Clinton in 1996 to Bush in 2004. But the remainder -- those counties where the ratio of Wal-Marts to residents is lower -- swung by little more than half as much.
Shoppers flock to Wal-Mart in tough economic times. Democrats should continue to build a party that can say the same.
Confessions of a Pro-Trade DemocratBy Al From
I helped found the Democratic Leadership Council in the wake of Walter Mondale's 49-state defeat in 1984, and we have always supported expanded trade. We still have a ways to go to win that argument in the Democratic Party. But the record is clear. Over the past 20 years, our party has grown stronger when we've been willing to do the right thing on the toughest issues, from putting the nation's fiscal house in order to overhauling a broken welfare system that trapped millions in poverty.
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