DC Insiders Propose Bipartisan Policy Prescriptions

What’s the story?

Left to their own devices, all pendulums eventually settle in the middle. American politics and political discourse have become increasingly partisan and extreme, so perhaps it was inevitable that political thinkers on opposite ends of the swing might head towards the center in response.

Why does it matter?

In response to the rise of President Trump, William Kristol, conservative writer and former Republican staffer for Vice President Dan Quayle, and William Galston, a Brookings Institution fellow and former Clinton White House policy advisor, have co-authored a policy pamphlet, Ideas to Re-Center America, proposing a list of centrist prescriptions. Galston told the Washington Post, "These ideas might appeal to a lot of people between the 35-yard lines in American politics."

So, what are those ideas?

1. Challenge monopolies, particularly in technology (like Google & Facebook), and institute new anti-trust policies.

2. Support research and development and protect American intellectual property, particularly from China.

3. Incentivize work, by aggressively pursuing disability fraud, helping formerly incarcerated people secure employment, giving families more tax credits to cover child care, and focusing educational loans on students heading into growth industries.

4. Focus economic growth on the middle class by expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit, taxing capital gains as income and increasing the federal minimum wage.

5. Overhauling the tax code with a focus on funding infrastructure maintenance and improvements.

6. Encouraging entrepreneurship through loosening regulations on lending by community banks and angel investors to venture capital firms, while simplifying and expanding lending opportunities through the Small Business Administration.

7. Overhauling immigration to prioritize visas for those with job skills to offer and encourage English language competence as a requirement of naturalization.

What do you think?

Do any of these ideas appeal to you? Are there any you think are way off-base? What do you think is missing? Do you believe focusing on what we can agree on rather than what we disagree on is the right way to develop policy?

Tell us in the comments what you think, then use the Take Action button to tell your reps!

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— Asha Sanaker

(Photo Credit: Pexels.com / Creative Commons)

Related Reading:

• Not Just ‘Another Party’ — centristproject.org

• Amid 2020 buzz, Warren urges Democrats to reject centrist policies and move leftward — CNN

• In the Trump era, the U.S. needs parliamentary politics more than ever — Washington Post