Third Way, a group of centrist Democrats, is setting out an agenda it thinks can unify the party, appeal to wayward Republicans and address critical issues relevant to the transition from an industrial to an information economy. Third Way argues: “Right now, America is creating jobs, but they are neither good enough nor spread widely enough to satisfy people. It’s far too difficult to get the skills needed to succeed in a rapidly shifting economy. And the benefits of work have so eroded that too few jobs provide a good life.” (Emphasis in the original.)
It has put out 10 policy ideas, many of which would boost Americans living in rural America and the Rust Belt. These include an American investment bank to extend capital to firms in areas where access to capital is difficult. “Participating banks and a diverse group of investors in local communities will select qualifying ventures with additional inducements for overlooked locations and populations: the two-thirds of US counties where the number of businesses declined over the last decade, people of color and women who are ignored by lenders and investors, and communities bypassed by opportunity despite being within booming metros.”)
Also on the list is help for small businesses — speeding up patents, reciprocity in state licensing rules and strong antitrust enforcement to address market concentration.
There is a strong emphasis on work and work training. Its reemployment insurance, for example, looks to reintegrate laid-off workers as fast as possible:
The program continues as a universally available earned benefit like today, offering a temporary income to laid-off workers who paid into the system. But it also offers individualized guidance from a jobs center career counselor and is available to people doing contingent work. It also offers one of three additional valuable benefits:First, the worker may claim a training grant, akin to a Pell Grant but redeemable only for certified short-term programs for in-demand occupations run by community colleges, unions, nonprofits, or employers. Second, if the worker wants to pursue work opportunities elsewhere in the country, he or she can claim a moving voucher to help defray the cost of relocating. Or third, the worker may claim a bonus if he or she lands a new job before income support expires.
Many of these ideas, as you can see, would find favor with reform-minded Republicans as well as with traditional Democrats. They are also responsive to the concerns of many citizens who have felt left out of global prosperity and therefore have looked to charismatic populists to address economic uncertainty. Democracies are also challenged by authoritarians who claim that democracies are “broke” and that only a strongman can fix things. Third Way’s Matt Bennett, senior vice president for public affairs, acknowledges that this is a problem as well. The first part of our conversation focusing mostly on work in the 21st century can be found here. Here is the remainder of our conversation as we turned to the political realm:
Western democracies are in crisis. Are there some items on voting access, transparency in government, removing conflicts of interest, etc. that would find resonance across the spectrum?
Yes, and we have a number of ideas in the area of political reform. The goal of reform should be to increase participation in elections and make them more competitive. Gerrymandering is an obvious example, but here’s another: caucuses should be eliminated. It’s voter suppression under a polite name.
It’s not clear that such changes are viable in the near-term, with one party in control of Washington and under the thumb of a president who is hostile to liberal democracy. But the reaction to [President] Trump, which we hope and expect will result in a sea-change in 2020, should include a number of changes that will make our country more democratic.
Are you suggesting individual candidates “sign on” to Third Way’s agenda, or are these more akin to conversation starters for campaigns and candidates?
Eventually, we would like to see ideas like these at the heart of the Democratic nominee’s campaign and governing agenda. But paradigm shifting takes time—we don’t expect anyone to sign-on to these or other such ideas until there’s been a vigorous debate inside the Party about how best to craft a narrative and agenda for 2020.
We also see this as a two-part process. First, and most urgently, the transcendent idea we believe the Democratic Party should realign itself around is this new social contract that restores the opportunity to earn. Just as 20th century Progressives committed to building a social contract for the Industrial Age—and then spent decades building out the policies—our aim is to get Democrats to commit first to this as a 21st century calling and then spend time debating the details of that mandate. In that second phase, we hope that our policy ideas will be a big part of the conversation.
