Democrats Brush Off Deficit Fears in Quest to Bolster Safety Net
- From Joe Biden to Bernie Sanders, big government is back
- Party driven by voter pressure and anger at GOP contradictions
Senator Elizabeth Warren
Photographer: Daniel Acker/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Bill Clinton famously declared in 1996 that “the era of big government is over.” Now, on the Democratic campaign trail, it’s back with a vengeance.
Presidential candidates are replacing their post-Clinton rhetoric of fiscal restraint with a new argument that money is no obstacle to addressing domestic issues like rising inequality and poverty — and they promise to pay for it by taxing the rich, cutting military spending, or borrowing.