Jonathan Cohn caught a good discussion on CNN yesterday on economic policy between Robert Reich, the Clinton-era Labor Secretary, and David Stockman, the Reagan-era Budget Director. The two took the positions you’d largely expect them to take, but they presented their positions better than most. (Stockman, in particular, probably deserves some bonus credit for acknowledging that austerity measures will hurt, since most Republicans claim the opposite.)
Cohn added:
This is about the third or fourth time I’ve heard Reich talk about jobs in recent weeks. And you know what? He’s really good. In fact, I think he talks about the economy, and liberal answers to unemployment, better than just about anybody in the greater Democratic universe right now.
I agree. In fact, reader J.P. emailed this item last week in which Reich gives a pretty solid overview of “what’s wrong with the economy.” It’s a big subject, of course, and he can’t go into too much detail, but as broad overviews go, this is a straightforward, easy-to-understand message — the kind of thing folks can send around to friends who don’t keep up on these issues.
And he does it all in 2 minutes and 15 seconds. Not bad.
