A new report written by scores of progressives economists
has laid out an detailed agenda to dismantle, reverse and fix how the
laws and policies governing the American economy are rigged to benefit
the wealthiest individuals and largest corporoation.
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The
report,
“Rewriting The Rules Of The American Economy: An Agenda For Growth and
Shared Prosperity,” has just been released by The Roosevelt Institute,
where Sen. Elizabeth Warren and New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio joined
its chief economist Joseph Stiglitz at its press conference.
“The
American economy no longer works for most Americans… What is causing
this dysfunction?” the report opens, then answering that question and
making dozens of specific law and policy changes listed below.
“Some
point to technological change or globalization,” it said. “Some posit
that government has shackled the free enterprise system and hobbled
business. Some say that our economy is simply rewarding the risk takers
and job creators who have earned the riches coming their way... None of
these arguments gets it right.”
“Skyrocketing incomes for
the 1 percent and stagnating wages for everyone else are not
independent phenomena, but rather two symptoms of an impaired economy
that rewards gaming the system more than it does hard work and
investment," it states. "The roots of this dysfunction lie deep in the
rules and power dynamics that have prioritized corporate power and
short-term gains at the expense of long-term innovation and growth. The
outcomes shaped by these rules and power dynamics do not make the
economy stronger; indeed, many make it weaker.”
What
follows are 37 specific laws and policy changes to restore fairness and
balance to the economy without undermining American capitalism.
Fix The Financial Sector
1.
End “too big to fail” by imposing additional capital surcharges on
systemically risky financial institutions and breaking up firms that
cannot produce credible living wills.
2. Better regulate the shadow banking sector.
3.
Bring greater transparency to all financial markets by requiring all
alternative asset managers to publicly disclose holdings, returns, and
fee structures.
4. Reduce credit and debit card fees through improved regulation of card providers and enhanced competition.
5. Enforce existing rules with stricter penalties for companies and corporate officials that break the law.
6. Reform Federal Reserve governance to reduce conflicts of interest and institute more open and accountable elections.
Incentize Long-Term Business Growth
7.
Restructure CEO pay by closing the performance-pay tax loophole and
increasing transparency on the size of compensation packages relative to
performance and median worker pay and on the dilution as a result of
grants of stock options.
8. Enact a financial transaction tax to reduce short-term trading and encourage more productive long-term investment.
9.
Empower long-term stakeholders through the tax code, the use of
so-called “loyalty shares,” and greater accountability for managers of
retirement funds.
Make Markets Competitive
10. Restore balance to intellectual property rights to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship.
11.
Restore balance to global trade agreements by ensuring investor
protections are not prioritized above protections on the environment and
labor, and increasing transparency in the negotiation process.
12. Provide health care cost controls by allowing government bargaining.
13. Expand a variant of chapter 11 bankruptcy to homeowners and student borrowers.
Rebalance The Tax System
14. Raise the top marginal rate by converting all reductions to tax credits and limiting the use of credits.
15. Raise taxes on capital gains and dividends.
16. Encourage U.S. investment by taxing corporations on global income.
17.
Tax undesirable behavior such as short-term trading or polluting and
eliminate corporate welfare and other tax expenditures that foster
inefficiency and inequality.
Make Full Employement The Goal
18. Reform monetary policy to give higher priority to full employment.
19.
Reinvigorate public investment to lay the foundation for long-term
economic performance and job growth, including by investing in
large-scale infrastructure renovation: a 10-year campaign to make the
U.S. a world leader in innovation, manufacturing, and jobs.
20.
Invest in large-scale infrastructure renovation with a 10-year campaign
to make the U.S. a world infrastructure innovation, manufacturing, and
jobs leader.
21. Expand public transportation to promote equal access to jobs and opportunity.
Empower workers
22.
Strengthen the right to bargain by easing legal barriers to
unionization, imposing stricter penalties on illegal anti-union
intimidation tactics, and amending laws to reflect the changing
workplace.
23. Have government set the standards by attaching strong pro-worker stipulations to its contracts and development subsidies.
24. Increase funding for enforcement and raise penalties for violating labor standards.
25. Raise the nationwide minimum wage and increase the salary threshold for overtime pay.
Expand Access to Labor Markets and Opportunities For Advancement
26. Reform the criminal justice system to reduce incarceration rates and related financial burdens for the poor.
27. Reform immigration law to provide a pathway to citizenship for undocumented workers.
28. Legislate universal paid sick and family leave.
29. Subsidize child care to benefit children and improve women’s workforce participation.
30. Promote pay equity and eliminate legal obstacles that prevent employees from sharing salary information.
31. Protect women’s access to reproductive health services.
Expand Economic Security And Opportunity
32. Invest in young children through child benefits, early education, and universal pre-K.
33.
Increase access to higher education by reforming tuition financing,
restoring protections to student loans, and adopting universal
income-based repayment.
34. Make health care affordable and universal by opening Medicare to all.
35. Expand access to banking services through a postal savings bank.
36. Create a public option for the supply of mortgages.
37.
Expand Social Security with a supplemental public investment program
modeled on private Individual Retirement Accounts, and raise the payroll
cap to increase revenue.
Steven Rosenfeld covers
national political issues for AlterNet, including America's retirement
crisis, democracy and voting rights, and campaigns and elections. He is
the author of "Count My Vote: A Citizen's Guide to Voting" (AlterNet
Books, 2008).
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