Some more expansive structural proposals include a universal basic income; a sharp increase in top tax rates including on income from capital gains; raising the minimum wage much higher; an integrated social welfare system; trade agreements to protect workers and the environment; labor law reform; and confronting the long-term unemployment problem head on.
The difficulty in moving forward with any major policy innovation, however, lies in the current balance of power.
A mix of economic, social and political forces have weakened the clout of those in the bottom half of the income distribution. The list of forces is long, but its signal features are the decline in manufacturing jobs, the strengthening of the bargaining power of corporations, the gutting of middle income employment and competitive pressures to limit wage growth.
How did the Democrats let these developments gain momentum? It depends on how you see the world. Some progressives argue that the Democratic Party stood by and let it happen passively; others suggest that key segments on the left simply sold out to Wall Street.
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