Failures of politics.(PROSPECTS)(USA economy)

WHEN HISTORIANS REVIEW THIS ERA, THEY WILL point to the striking failure of our political system to engage, much less remedy, the most pressing national problems. Consider a few key examples" The most notable economic fact is a 25-year decline in living standards of ordinary Americans during a period of rising productivity.

As Paul Krugman noted, more than half the income lost by the bottom 80 percent since 1979 was captured by the top one-quarter of one percent. If democracy were working, this would be Topic A. Both parties would be competing to persuade voters that they were ...

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