Global Middle Class Initiative: Publications, Events and More

Democratizing Capital

Ron Tang — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 05:53:00 -0400

Below is a longer version of the article published in The Nation. For the version appearing in The Nation, please click here.

Historical analogies are never exact. Yet many of the choices we have before us today are similar to ones that an earlier generation of progressives faced as the 1932 election approached. As we do today, the progressives of the 20th century confronted a society beset by a huge gap between classes and an economy laid flat by the bursting of the speculative excesses of the previous decade. To be sure, our economy is nowhere near Depression levels… more

Undebated Challenges

Articles — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 16:35:00 -0500

The most damaging part of the Bush foreign policy legacy is not the precipitous decline in American power and influence brought about by the disastrous Iraq occupation. It is the way the Administration’s "war on terror" and its neoimperial project in the Middle East have distorted our vision of the world.

They magnify out of all proportion what should at worst be minor threats to our national security and ignore much larger developments, such as the extraordinary economic rise of China and India, which are having a much more profound effect on the American way of life.

Just how distorted our… more

Ten Big Ideas for a New America

Communications — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 02:00:00 -0500

A New America Event
01/31/2007 - 11:00am

The recent turnover in Congress, combined with a wide open presidential election cycle, creates a rare opportunity to bring new ideas into the political process. The spirit of this new era will be captured by those -- from either party or no party -- who embrace innovative yet pragmatic solutions to the foremost challenges facing our nation.

At this event, the New America Foundation released a major new report outlining Ten Big Ideas for a New America, and offered brief presentations on nine of the 10 ideas. (Senior Fellow Jacob Hacker, author of the Universal Risk Insurance proposal, was testifying on Capitol Hill and was unable to attend.)

In addition, Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) offered kenote addresses that explored their respective takes on the need for big ideas in American politics.

Video of the complete event is available at right, while MP3 audio recordings can be dowloaded at the bottom of this page. To jump directly to video of a particular keynote address or Big Idea presentation, please use the links below.

Every Baby a Trust Fund Baby

Closing the $700 Billion Tax Loophole

Instant Runoff Voting

Mandatory, Affordable Health Insurance

Tax Consumption, Not Work

A College Access Contract

A Capital Budget for Public Investment

A Universal 401(k) Plan

An Energy Efficiency Trading System

A Goldilocks World Economy?

Articles — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 09:22:00 -0500

Over the past decade and half, two developments in the world economy have come together to create conditions for what could be a new era of faster economic growth and rising prosperity. One development involves the integration of China, India and the former Soviet Union into the global economy. The inclusion of these three populous regions into the global economy has created what economists call positive supply-side shocks, resulting in surpluses in labor, capital, and productive capacity. The most obvious impact of China, India, and the former Soviet Union has been on the world's labor market. Their entry into the… more

The Disposable American

Communications — Mon, 10 Apr 2006 12:00:00 -0400

A New America Event
04/10/2006 - 12:00pm

In his first book, Louis Uchitelle, an award-winning business reporter for The New York Times, examines the accelerating trend of corporate layoffs in America. In The Disposable American: Layoffs and their Consequences, Uchitelle examines rising job insecurity from its origins as a largely blue-collar phenomena in the mid 1970s to how it today affects white-collar workers as well. Arguing that we are now in an era of "downward mobility," he blows the lid off the myth that in America there is always work, and good pay, for the educated and skilled; and that new training creates jobs.

Job insecurity is the order of the day for most Americans, and Uchitelle challenges the conventional wisdom that this is good for the economy. He makes the case that rather than continue the era of layoffs, we should challenge inflated executive pay, leveraged buyouts, and other poor corporate practices.

Uchitelle has been writing about business, labor and economics for The New York Times since 1987 and was the lead reporter for the paper's series "The Downsizing of America," which won a George Polk Award in 1996. He has taught at Columbia University and was a visiting scholar at the Russell Sage Foundation in New York in 2002-2003.

Our Allies In Iran

Articles — Thu, 03 Nov 2005 00:00:00 -0500

When Iran's new president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, called last week for Israel to be "wiped off the map," he raised fears not only abroad but also at home, particularly among Iran's sizeable, democratically minded middle class. The new president's confrontational tone threatens to deepen the isolation of Iran's democrats, pushing them further behind his long shadow. Western powers have a dual challenge: to find a way to engage this population even as they struggle to address the new president's inflammatory rhetoric.

By the time Mr. Ahmadinejad was elected in June, a sustained assault by hard-liners had left Iranian democrats disoriented and… more

Reconnecting to the World

Articles — Wed, 29 Jun 2005 03:00:00 -0400

For the sake of party unity, many Democrats last year put aside their differences with John Kerry's foreign policy positions, in particular his tortured support for the war in Iraq. Situating the party as close to the Bush agenda as possible without actually embracing it, it was argued, was a reasonable price to pay for taking back the White House. The gambit -- of being long on national security and the "war on terror" and short on the economy and jobs -- failed, however, to persuade working-class and suburban voters in places like Ohio and Missouri, reinforcing the public view… more

The Market Shall Set You Free

Articles — Fri, 28 Jan 2005 00:00:00 -0500

Last week President Bush again laid out a faith-based view of the world and again took heat for it. Human history, the president said in his inaugural address, "has a visible direction, set by liberty and the author of liberty." Accordingly, America will pursue "the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world" -- and Mr. Bush has "complete confidence" of success. Critics on the left and right warned against grounding foreign policy in such nanve optimism (a world without tyrants?) and such unbounded faith.

But the problem with the speech is actually the opposite. Mr. Bush has… more

What Comes Next?

Communications — Wed, 10 Nov 2004 23:00:00 -0500

A New America Event
11/10/2004 - 12:11pm

Featuring New America Experts

Dignity, Most of All

Articles — Thu, 21 Oct 2004 00:00:00 -0400

With little media notice and marginal scholarly interest, a powerful and potentially transformative movement is taking shape across the Middle East. The movement cuts across religious, ethnic and gender lines. It threatens ruling elites. It poses new challenges to the social order. It makes new and urgent demands of civil society. It feeds and animates other movements. And it will reshape the region as we know it, far more than the US invasion of Iraq.

It's the most important movement in the Middle East, and it doesn't even have a name, a political infrastructure or militant supporters. Let's call it… more

The Trade Adjustment Assistance Reform Act: Two Years Later

Communications — Tue, 05 Oct 2004 12:00:00 -0400

A New America Event
10/05/2004 - 12:00pm

In 2002, Congress passed the most far-reaching reform and expansion of Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) since the program was established more than 40 years ago. Now, two years later, it is time to ask, how successfully have these changes been implemented and how effective is TAA in addressing the needs of workers and communities facing severe dislocations as a result of changes in international trade and investment?

The Trade Adjustment Assistance Coalition is a non-profit 501(c)(3) public policy organization, housed at the New America Foundation, and dedicated to creating a forum for public outreach and discussion on addressing the needs of workers and communities facing dislocations as a result of changes in international trade and investment.

Mortgage Markets Will Strengthen Arab Middle Classes

Articles — Fri, 17 Sep 2004 00:00:00 -0400

Political theorists don't agree on much, but they tend toward a healthy majority on one issue: large, vibrant middle classes spur demands for greater democracy and help sustain democratic institutions.

In recent history, countries that have successfully transitioned to democratic pluralism tend to be those with strong middle classes. South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Mexico and Chile all moved toward greater democracy after developing their economies and building middle classes. The Eastern European states that have shown the healthiest democratic transition -- Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic -- also have the strongest middle classes. Meanwhile, support for democracy in the… more

Where Have All the Big Ideas Gone?

Articles — Sun, 15 Aug 2004 00:00:00 -0400

Each era in American history is defined by a couple of big ideas: the Homestead Act, the GI Bill, Social Security, the Marshall Plan or the race to space. Such major social or economic innovations are usually advanced by our political leaders in response to national turning points. Few would disagree that the United States has reached another historical juncture. Where, then, have all the big -- and good -- ideas gone?

The paucity of innovative thinking is particularly evident in this presidential campaign. President Bush has a couple of big ideas -- … more

The Arab World Needs a Development Bank

Articles — Mon, 09 Aug 2004 00:00:00 -0400

To understand the most pressing crisis facing the future of the Middle East, place a job advertisement in a local newspaper. In Tehran, an ad seeking a clerk for a Western company prompted more than 1,000 applications. Included among them: a PhD in economics, a medical doctor, dozens of software engineers and hundreds of Iran's top university graduates. In Cairo, a senior accountant told me he was shocked at the highly educated who applied for a low-level position with his company.

All across the region, high unemployment, widespread underemployment, and an overwhelmingly young population are putting tremendous pressure on strained labor… more

Global Economic Rebalancing

Communications — Fri, 04 Jun 2004 12:00:00 -0400

A New America Event
06/04/2004 - 12:00pm

Keeping our Commitments to American Workers on International Trade

Articles — Thu, 11 Mar 2004 00:00:00 -0500

In 2002, after a nearly decade-long deadlock, Congress passed the most sweeping international trade legislation in 15 years.

By giving the president authority to negotiate new trade agreements, the United States has begun negotiating free-trade agreements with more than a dozen countries. President Bush has already signed free-trade agreements with Chile and Singapore, and he expects to sign at least two more this year.

In exchange for trade negotiating authority, Congress and the administration committed to assist those workers who lose their jobs due to increased imports and shifts in production. Unfortunately, our commitment to these workers has… more

Trade Adjustment Assistance and Offshore Sourcing

Articles — Thu, 19 Feb 2004 00:00:00 -0500

For more than 40 years, the United States has recognized that -- though international trade and global commerce are certainly in the best interests of the United States -- there are those workers that are hurt by trade and globalization in general. During the Kennedy administration, to respond to the needs of those workers the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program was created.

In 2002, the Congress agreed to extend new authority to the Administration to negotiate new trade agreements, but the Congress insisted on a major rewrite of TAA be included in the same legislation to ensure that… more

Rebalancing China, Taiwan

Articles — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 00:00:00 -0500

The Bush administration has a strong record of working to establish democracy abroad. The invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq were motivated by several factors, but in both cases an authoritarian regime was toppled and a foundation laid for a new democratic government.

This record made it all the more striking when President Bush recently seemed to side with the authoritarian Chinese government over the democratic Taiwan. The president's statements discouraged Taiwan from moving toward independence and even indicated displeasure with Taiwan's move to measure public sentiment on Chinese missiles aimed at Taiwan through a ballot referendum in the upcoming election.

The… more

America's 'Suez Moment'

Articles — Tue, 20 Jan 2004 00:00:00 -0500

Despite its unchallenged military might, the United States has an Achilles' heel: its economy depends on foreign capital. Though hardly anyone acknowledges this publicly, China and Japan already hold so much American debt that, theoretically, each could exert enormous leverage on American foreign policy. So far, the economic dependence of these countries on American consumers has kept them from exercising such power. But what would happen if, for instance, Washington changed its one-China policy and officially recognized Taiwan? Or if the Bush Administration threatened to invade North Korea? Simply by dumping U.S. Treasury bills and other dollar-denominated assets, China --… more

Are We Still a Middle-Class Nation?

Articles — Tue, 20 Jan 2004 00:00:00 -0500

In 1909 Herbert Croly, the founding editor of The New Republic and one of the patron saints of the twentieth-century progressive-liberal tradition, published his manifesto, The Promise of American Life. "The Promise of America," he wrote, "has consisted largely in the opportunity which it offered of economic independence and prosperity." According to Croly,

The native American, like the alien immigrant, conceives the better future which awaits himself and other men in America as fundamentally a future in which economic prosperity will be still more abundant and still more accessible than it has yet been either here or abroad ...… more