Katrina vanden Heuvel
9/15/2010

Special interests and powerful corporate lobbies should be set aside in order to hold real debates on important issues. Political leaders along with the media engage in “gotcha politics” to the detriment of the country’s direction. Republican campaigns point accusingly to President Obama’s economic policies while Democrats point to past Republican policies as the cause of America’s woes. Republicans have remained in an “idea vacuum” for years, vanden Heuvel points out, which may actually help them in the upcoming elections. But for Democrat campaigns to be productive, Democrats need to be honest about the lack of jobs and the still-dismal state of the economy and clear about what needs to be done now.

Katrina vanden Heuvel is editor and publisher of The Nation magazine.

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Anne Applebaum
9/14/2010

The British government, nostalgic for the hardy survivalism of World War II and eager for a secure future, is cutting government spending with vigor. The solution to that country’s economic woes seems to be austerity, and many British citizens and leaders are embracing this approach so that they can, in the words of Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, “look our children and grandchildren in the eye and say we did the best for them.” In contrast, austerity holds little appeal for Americans, who long for the post-war era prosperity and are still accustomed to instant gratification.

Applebaum is a weekly columnist for The Post, writing on foreign affairs.

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Jeremy Wiesen
9/13/2010

The term “industrial policy” should not be seen as a pejorative. Wiesen notes that it certainly isn’t in China. Nor should it be anathema for the US government to provide capital and other incentives to keep scientific and entrepreneurial talent at home, give aggressive trade assistance, and incubate new businesses. China’s government incubates business with capital and other incentives. So should America’s. Wiesen argues that we need to develop dynamic new businesses to prove American-style capitalism isn’t second-rate.

Wiesen is a professor of entrepreneurship (emeritus) at New York University’s Stern School of Business.

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Robert J. Samuelson
9/13/2010

The question of just why and how Lehman Brothers was allowed to fail remains unanswered two years after the financial institution’s collapse. Lehman’s failure had profoundly negative consequences, such as tighter credit and higher unemployment rates. Its collapse gave the impression that the government had lost control. The ensuing panic might have been avoided had the government bailed out Lehman. Alternatively, such a rescue might merely have delayed an inevitable crisis. History has yet to answer this question accurately.

Samuelson is a weekly columnist for The Post, writing on political, economic and social issues.

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David Brooks
9/10/2010

Brooks says the notion that America is in decline is debatable, but it is undergoing changes that are structural, not cyclical. Our best talent is entering the helping or consulting fields, which are less prosperous. Yet there is also a shortage of mechanics and other skilled workers because the middle class saw their way into affluence by leaving the working class trades. And the lower classes are plagued with social breakdown, which results in wasted human capital. Brooks says short-term stimulus is a distraction. The real issue is gentility shift and whether we can address it.

Brooks is a New York Times columnist.

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