Obama’s Economic Agenda “Mildly Redistributionist”
President-elect Barack Obama’s economic agenda is likely to be mildly redistributionist and focused on public service — “a modest return to the ethos of the old Democratic New Deal and Great Society eras,” says Oxford Analytica.
“Indeed, it may be surprisingly similar to the approach of former Republican President Richard Nixon’s New Federalism programmes, in that it features more resources for housing and education initiatives, infrastructure development and redevelopment including transport (ranging from highways to subsidised city rail networks), and urban development block grants,” OxAn says in an Obama pursues redistributionist strategy.
“Of course, this agenda is certain to face very severe fiscal constraints. Leading Democrats, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, have already sought to manage extremely high expectations among Democratic voters for wholesale policy change. However, the party is still likely to get many of these policy priorities through Congress, by packaging them as an economic stimulus plan directed at the middle class. ”
The deeply inhospitable economic context facing the Obama White House will restrain the Democrats’ attempts to push mildly redistributionist policy proposals. However, pressure from the party’s base will ensure that some key elements of this agenda are enacted in early 2009 — although they are likely to be broadly directed, rather than couched in terms of the needs of particular groups.
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