Time's Halperin sees something missing on the economy

Time's Mark Halperin writes that something is missing when the three presidential candidates talk about the economy. He argues that the candidates need to get a lot better at talking about the American economy and outlines 17 points that the candidates lack in their rhetoric. Here are some highlights:

3. A grand overarching narrative that frames/makes sense of the changes whipping through the American and the global economies.

4. A firm grip on BOTH the promise AND the perils of the transformations whipping through the 21st century economy like a Bengali typhoon.

7. Ideas on how to address everything plaguing the economy-from unemployment to outsourcing to the weak dollar - ideas that don't sound like they're recycled from the file cabinets of Arthur Laffer/Jack Kemp/Bob Rubin/Gene Sperling (in other words: new ideas).

8. A compelling explanation of where the jobs of the future are going to come from.

17. Really big policy ideas that could serve as data points or ways to animate whatever their big idea vision would be - and a capacity to drive an economic idea on an ongoing basis for a week or so.

NDN's Globalization Initiative has been discussing these economic changes for years. We have produced innovative proposals that both call for a comprehensive economic strategy to make globalization work for all Americans and include specific policy recommendations on how to do so. Rob Shapiro, Chair of the Globalization Initiative, recently laid out these arguments in his paper: The New Landscape of Globalization. Simon has also recently blogged on these issues, illustrating the disastrous policies of the Bush Administration and pointing to NDN's creative fixes.

At NDN, we agree with Mark Halperin that America needs to address this new period of economic development, and we are pleased to see the national media discussing globalization in this manner. The presidential candidates would be wise to acknowledge that globalization is here to stay. And, while John McCain has admitted to not having a fantastic grasp of economics, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have a unique opportunity to lay out a governing agenda on the top issue in the minds of American voters and to speak honestly about the direction of the global economy in which we live. Both are slated to give major addresses on the economy tomorrow; we will be watching closely.