Grand bargains
Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about ‘grand bargains’. Big societal trades. I was reading something a few weeks ago, where some liberal blogger wrote that there was zero way Paul Ryan would agree to push for universal child care.
But - universal child care would be wildly, wildly popular! People pay obscene amounts of money for daycare. So this assertion about Paul Ryan seemed a little incredible to me. Surely he’d consider some deal for universal child care, right? What if you gave him, say, abstinence-only education? How about a constitutional amendment repealing Roe v. Wade?
Obviously, I’m being hyperbolic here, but the point is that there’s some deal out there that Paul Ryan would gladly take in exchange for universal child care.
Here are some ideas on big trades:
1) Reparations for African-Americans in exchange for closing the borders, protectionist economics, and stepped-up deportation efforts. This is a big one, and would be the basis for a long-term realignment. Would be wildly popular in the black community, would attract significant liberal support, and might lead to a permanent schism among left-of-center Americans.
Obviously, a hard sell to white moderates and conservatives, but frame it as an explicit trade to turn America into an industrial titan again and you’ll peel off enough support for a new coalition.
2) Cap and trade/cap and tax for local control of schools. Liberals get their biggest win ever on climate, everyone gets freedom from standardized testing, conservatives get to make curricula in their areas more traditional and patriotic.
The rump federal Department of Education turns into a school administrator of last resort, and will have the explicit mission of returning the school district to local control. To really seal the leftish side of the vote, establish a free federal university system with the proceeds from cap and trade.
