The Democratic Party’s problems have a two-word solution: “economic populism.”
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paying higher taxes for more government services has never exceeded 25 percent since 1993. As of 2021, a majority of Americans favored “lower taxes” in exchange for “fewer services.”Put simply, one can’t be a progressive in the United States and think that the American public’s economic intuitions are reliably sound. Indeed, virtually all highly political people — no matter their ideology — believe that their movement can best advance voters’ stated interests by ignoring some of their policy judgments.
Democrats should therefore be populist in both their rhetoric and basic objectives. But when assessing whether a given policy will actually aid “the many,” popular opinion is not a substitute for expert analysis.