The Right Industrial Policy for America
The best way for the government to help the economy is to ensure that its existing programs work.
Industrial policy? First, build more housing.
Photographer: Bloomberg/BloombergOne of the most striking things about current U.S. politics is a renewed interest in industrial policy — on the left as a way to help the working class, on the right as a means of making America great again. There are reasons to be cautious about this bipartisan enthusiasm.
Oren Cass, the conservative commentator and author of “The Once and Future Worker,” recently delivered a speech at the National Conservatism Conference in favor of the idea. Industrial policy is a loose term and can mean different things to different people. But I will accept Cass’s definition as government policy designed to “support vital sectors that might otherwise suffer from underinvestment.”