Katrina vanden Heuvel: Debt Deal Exposes America’s Democratic Deficit

Katrina vanden Heuvel: Debt Deal Exposes America’s Democratic Deficit

Katrina vanden Heuvel: Debt Deal Exposes America’s Democratic Deficit

The political and economic elite are drifting further and further away from the rest of the country.

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GDP growth is sluggish, unemployment remains high and poll after poll shows that Americans want job creation, not deficit reduction. Yet today’s debt deal shows just how disconnected both parties are from the real economy. Instead of passing a jobs plan, Washington continues to implement budget cuts and austerity measures that will further depress the economy.

On The Diane Rehm Show this morning, The Nation‘s Katrina vanden Heuvel discusses the emerging “democratic deficit” separating the political and economic elite from the rest of the country. You can find her latest article on the debt ceiling negotiations here.

Kevin Donohoe

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With the midterm elections now firmly upon us, the question is whether Democratic candidates will do more than merely occupy ballot lines as mild alternatives to the red-hot crisis that is Donald Trump.

As Trump spends over $1 billion a day on a globally destabilizing war on Iran and admits that he doesn’t “think about Americans’ financial situation,” millions across the country are struggling with the surging costs of essentials. Democrats must seize this moment and advance bold, small-“d” populist ideas—not settle for cynical caution that once again snatches defeat from the jaws of victory.

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Onward,

Katrina vanden Huevel
Editor and Publisher, The Nation

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