Why Liberals Have to Be Radicals

The reforms needed to restore the country's shared prosperity are to the left of all the candidates, including Sanders.

Robert Kuttner

Just about nothing being proposed in mainstream politics is radical enough to fix what ails the economy. Consider everything that is destroying the life chances of ordinary people:

Young adults are staggered by $1.3 trillion in student debt. Yet even those with college degrees are losing ground in terms of incomes.

The economy of regular payroll jobs and career paths has given way to a gig economy of short-term employment that will soon hit four workers in 10.

The income distribution has become so extreme, with the one percent capturing such a large share of the pie, that even a $15/hour national minimum wage would not be sufficient to restore anything like the more equal economy of three decades ago. Even the mainstream press acknowledges these gaps.