I love the pageantry of inaugurals. I could sit and watch them all day, which I more or less did while I wrote about the president?s address. No matter your political beliefs, there is something about inaugurations that bind us together. They are one of the few moments where ceremony links us together as Americans.
As satisfying as I found the events, which included watching the president derive such strength from his family, I found myself wanting to hear much more about his economic vision. We heard plenty about his social views, many of which I agree with when it comes to immigration, gay rights and lifting up the poor.
But he largely raced past the economic problems facing us with the debt. He didn?t speak of the role that entrepreneurs play in spurring growth. He didn?t really make the case for tax reform as a way to take our economy to a new level. And he talked not at all about opening up markets for American goods, which serves the larger political good of connecting American interests with those of emerging markets.
It?s his speech, so he gets to emphasize what he likes. But it is revealing that his core belief system includes little about the power of a market economy. Mostly today he talked about the rules needed to keep it in check. Or he highlighted the perils of a few privileging themselves over others.
Indeed, marketplaces need rules. And no society benefits if only the wealthy are making it.
But the place where the president put his economic emphasis is almost where always puts it. And that is on the cautionary aspect of our market economy.
What we heard in his address was mostly rooted in the Great Society, New Deal and progressive movement. This wasn?t a Clintonish New Democratic speech.
Once today?s pageantry fades, I worry that we are headed for at least two years of Democratic liberalism versus Republican conservatism. Maybe somewhere in that crowd were leaders from Congress and/or statehouses who were thinking about blending social equality with market economics. I don?t care what party they come from, but I sure hope they speak up soon. We need both social inclusion and the dynamics of the marketplace.
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