Labor Join Economic Debate

The headline on this piece is, i must say, a little unfortunate. Was there a time when the Labor movement was, you know, unfazed and mildly disinterested in the future of the economy? Anyway, apparently, if there was, that time is now over: Labor are to join the debate over the future of the economy. Hopefully this will be a cause for some genuine debate. The signs are mixed from the article, an interview given by the man behind the push:

In an attempt to devise an alternative, former Clinton Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, a Wall Street executive, is pushing his own “Hamilton Project” through various think tanks – with the aim of getting the Democrats to adopt its principles as theirs for the future of the economy. But Rubin’s principles, Baugh says, mimic those of the GOP in key areas, including “free trade” and refusal to do anything about the deindustrialization of the U.S. That’s where IUC’s project comes in, as a counterweight on the workers’ side.
 

Problematically, this mimics the sentiment behind this long, slightly unhelpful interview with Rubin in the Nation last month. We'll put aside for a minute how curious it is to think the best way to begin a debate on the economy is knocking copy directed at probably the best Treasury Secratery since the Second World War. Rubin's record of prosperity is probably the single most important reason that the Democrats are now more trusted on the economy. Perhaps a better start might be to train all our guns on the Republicans? NDN will begin this next week, when we turn our blog over for a fews to talk of the economy with some exciting guest bloggers, and release a new report examining the economic legacy of the current administration. Pretty reading it ain't.