One of these days, when everyone gets tired of yelling at each other about cultural violations, some smart political leader is going to pick up the long-neglected torch of industrial policy, figure out how to sell it to the public and mobilize a majority consensus for a new industrial policy. Meanwhile, it wouldn’t hurt for Democrats to educate themselves about the possibilities. Toward that end, a new book, “Industrial Policy for the United States” by liberal Marc Fasteau and conservative Ian Fletcher is getting some buzz. Consider this teaser from the publication’s web page: “Industrial policy is based on viewing the economy not as one single thing, which is the usual way to view it when people talk about inflation being X% or economic growth being Y%, but as an intricate network of specific industries, some of which are more important than others….The key here is that nations are locked in a ruthless rivalry to possess the most valuable industries. These are not only those important for national security, like aircraft building, but those that generate the highest profits and the most good jobs….foreign nations like China, Japan, Germany, and others use a wide range of policies to grab and hold onto the best industries. For example, they lock America out of their markets with trade barriers, often hidden, to keep the sales for themselves.  They subsidize their exports, overtly and covertly, to build volume and destroy American competitors. They fund not just pure science, but the development of new technologies right down to the factory floor. (Sometimes, they steal technology from us!) They rig their banking systems to build up industry, not financial speculators. (Why don’t we? See Chapter 18.) They don’t try to send all their people to college, but teach them the skills for sophisticated, modern manufacturing industries….Industrial policy is neither liberal nor conservative, and this book is forthrightly bipartisan. Both Trump (tariffs) and Biden (the CHIPS Act) took some small steps in the direction of industrial policy. These moves were a success, but America needs to go much further in this direction and probably will. ​Therefore, this book is the key to understanding how much of the economic agenda of the next 30 years will unfold, what will work and what won’t, and why.”

We can be confident that President Biden will do all that he can in the few remaining days of his presidency to help Los Angeles County recover from the devastation caused by the seven fires which are creating a natural disaster of unprecedented proportions in southern California. President-elect Trump, however, is already using his bully pulpit to blame Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom for the disaster, as if there was something he could do about the freakish weather and ocean conditions that fed the ferocious windstorms. Los Angeles County is the largest County in the U.S., with more than 9.6 million people. Only 10 of the 50 states have more people than L.A. County, and one of them is California. Nobody knows how much money the recovery from this disaster will cost, when all of the recovery expenses are paid, nor what portion will be covered by private fire insurance. But the devastation is so vast that taxpayers will surely pay a large proportion of the final expenses. What Democrats must do is unify against all Republican efforts to short relief aid and foment chaos in L.A. County, hoping that voters will blame California Democrats for Republican failure to fund the recovery. Democrats have always stood for supporting recovery efforts following natural disasters, as a fundamental principle of national patriotism, and now, more than ever, they are challenged to honor that commitment, as they have so often done in red states like Florida.

From “The Federal Reserve Thinks Trump is Going to Make Inflation Much Worse” by Malcolm Ferguson at The New Republic: “Officials at the Federal Reserve are worried that Trump’s policies will cause inflation to rise once again. Recent meeting notes included four separate mentions of the economic impact of changes on immigration, inflation, and trade policy, according to CNBC reporting….“Almost all participants judged that upside risks to the inflation outlook had increased,” the minutes said. “As reasons for this judgment, participants cited recent stronger-than-expected readings on inflation and the likely effects of potential changes in trade and immigration policy.”….Trump has been making broad threats about hardline tariffs against China, Canada, and Mexico, as well as promising mass deportations and deregulation. All of these things are causing the Fed to move carefully….Officials noted that they still expect inflation to get down to 2 percent, but not until 2027 at the earliest.” High inflation, or diminished consumer purchasing power, if you prefer, was the leading cause of Trump’s election victory in November. But soon high inflation will be his to own, and it’s up to Democrats to make sure that happens. it will likely be the pivotal issue of the 2026 midterm elections. If Democrats don’t seize the opportunity, there will be no one else to blame.

In “Sanders doubles down on attacks on Musk over H-1B visas: ‘Dead wrong,’ Lauren Irwin writes a The Hill: “Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is doubling down on his attacks against tech billionaire Elon Musk over H-1B visas, telling him he’s “dead wrong” about the employment visa….In an op-ed published Wednesday on Fox News, Sanders highlighted the ongoing debate about H-1B visas and other guest worker programs as President-elect Trump prepares to implement his immigration plan….The H-1B visa is a temporary, non-immigrant work permit that’s become part of the political debate. …Some say the visa attracts professional talent to the U.S., and others say the program allows employers to hire outside the country and pay workers less than they would if they hired an American citizen….Sanders said that H-1B visas are not intended to employ the “best and brightest” but instead replace American workers with people who can be paid lower wages and people who “often live as indentured servants.”….“If there is truly a major shortage of skilled tech workers in this country, why did Tesla lay-off over 7,500 American workers last year – including many software developers and engineers at its factory in Austin, Texas – while applying to hire thousands of H-1B guest workers?” Sanders wrote.”