The Democrats' Better Deal Still Needs Work

Last week Chuck Schumer, the Democrats' leader in the Senate, promised readers of the New York Times "a better deal." He said the party was listening to a country that's "clamoring for bold changes to our politics and our economy." He's right that voters are unhappy, but I wonder if the Democrats are really getting the message.

Schumer's article displayed the standard Democratic dissonance between a radical-sounding critique of American capitalism and timid little steps to put things right. Both sides of this traditional formula are wrong. The system isn't fundamentally broken; American voters don't want their government to demolish capitalism and start again. At the same time, bold innovations in policy -- much bolder than Democrats appear to be contemplating -- are needed to make the economy work better for the wide middle of the American electorate.