Winning the Edwards Vote

[Joanne98]

The central plank of the Edwards' campaign was restoring a prosperous and secure middle class. This must be the central economic-policy goal of any candidate wanting the Edwards vote.

John Edwards' exit from the presidential race puts his supporters up for grabs. Both Sens. Clinton and Obama want those votes. Here's how to win them.

The central plank of the Edwards' campaign was restoring a prosperous and secure middle class, which requires ending wage stagnation and having wages again grow with productivity. This must be the central economic-policy goal of any candidate wanting the Edwards vote.

The generation-long rupture of the wage-productivity link reflects deep structural failings in the economy that must be corrected. Helping-hand social policies, such as trade-adjustment assistance and the earned income tax credit, are welcome, but they are not adequate to the scale of the problem.

Having government try to remedy wage stagnation through after-tax income redistribution does not address the core problem of unfair before-tax incomes. Though a progressive tax system is critical for fairness, it cannot ensure a prosperous middle class. That requires decent wages paid in return for a decent day's work.

The starting point for shared prosperity must be full employment, since only then do workers everywhere have the power to bargain increased wages that equal productivity growth. Monetary, fiscal, and exchange-rate policy must work in coordinated fashion to this end. The best measure of full employment is when wages steadily rise with productivity.

Restoring the balance of power in labor markets is critical for wage bargaining. This requires labor law reform that ends employer intimidation preventing workers from joining unions and bargaining fair contracts, and government must vigorously enforce the law. The minimum wage must be reformed and tied to average wages so that it provides a true floor that rises as the economy grows. Unemployment insurance must also be reformed so that its duration is extended and coverage broadened.

Modernizing financial regulation is another needed measure. The housing bubble and sub-prime mortgage crisis show the financial system is broken. Today, the only instrument of control is the blunderbuss of Federal Reserve interest rate changes that inflict unemployment or inflation. New ideas exist and should be given space through a national financial-markets reform commission that airs all views, not just those of Wall Street.
http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=winning_the_edwards_vote