Sign "O" the Times

Meet Al Hunt, broken record:

Democrats, to be sure, will keep stressing pay equity — appealing to female voters — and raising the minimum wage, which will be higher in Germany and the U.K. They will also press to expand the valuable earned income tax credit for the working poor. However, these measures only marginally affect wage stagnation and the lagging middle class.

There are smart Democratic policy researchers who think about this a lot, including Alan Blinder and Alan Krueger, both Princeton University economists and former top Democratic officials.

In general, their message for Democrats is to shift from a defensive posture as deficit reducers to become proactive advocates of stimulus measures, especially a major infrastructure initiative. A robust economy won’t end wage stagnation or income inequality, but it’s a step.

Spending our way to prosperity is totally gonna work this time.