Opportunity for Everyone can be an Inclusive Republican Agenda

As it appears more and more likely that the Republican Party fissure may turn into a cataclysmic implosion of the GOP, I write this third part of my small series of opinion pieces on how the Republican Party build a tent big enough for a majority of American voters. I tackled the unifying force of family earlier in the primary process, now I turn my attention to economic opportunity.

Unfortunately, the Republican Party allowed (sold) its economic platform to be hijacked by large multi-national corporations. Our economic agenda has become 

1. that we oppose environmental regulation designed to save the world from climate change; the existence of and source of can not honestly be debated, yet we as a Party jump on the wrong side of history and deny it. 
2. that we support a foreign policy that continues to destabilize the international community allowing for huge profit taking by a small number of corporate interests.
3. that we support a tax policy that is inherently flawed and incredibly intrusive, but the very wealthy are able to game the system to their benefit.
4. that we support free trade that sells out the American people at every turn, yet we do not encourage fair trade between nations; again this allows massive profit taking by major multinationals that can take advantage of the removal of borders.

It is very interesting that the GOP talks about minimalist governmental policies, yet supports massive governmental selection of winners and losers in our economy. The major differentiation between Republican and Democratic policy is not the role of government, but who wins and who loses. This is wrong and an abdication of long held principles and values. This is why establishment has become a bad word. The establishment now finds itself on the wrong side of the people as a consequence. The way out is not to continue trying to convince people of the propriety of previous decision making; but to develop an economic policy which allows opportunity for everyone and more-or-less allows the market to determine the ultimate winners and losers, while the government encourages risk taking and investment.

The first step is to eliminate the current tax code and start over. Eliminate deductions and credits while lowering overall rates, this will be good for the economy. Educate the American people why the homeowners deduction is bad policy started by a governmental regime that picked winners (homeowners) over losers (renters). You can clarify and reformulate the code such that the extreme wealthy are not able to avoid taxes without giving up their citizenship. Some may choose to do that, but it is rare. Tax policy should be done to generate revenue, not encourage winners and losers. If you want to use that revenue to subsidize a specific interest, go ahead; but then you need to explain to the voting public why that interest is more important than interests you do not subsidize.

The second step is to invest in the infrastructure needed to create innovative and entrepreneurial communities in our urban, suburban, and rural areas. Address our largest societal problems with competitions, allow NSF and NIH to fund more research, and share the information across the board. Why is this different than using the tax code to pick winners and losers?

You can not hide the subsidy. Ultimately, this decision will lead you to have to justify the investment. Entrepreneurship and innovation is what will continue to make our economy work for everyone, not just the few. This is where problems are solved and jobs are created. These are generally real jobs. Jobs that pay wages that not only allow you to live, but allow you to improve your lives. Instead of picking winners on the revenue side, the government's role becomes much more about allocating the revenue in its most fruitful manner. Republicans should support entrepreneurs, instead of just big pharma and oil. Republicans should have been at the forefront of investing in and supporting green technologies, rather than talking about supporting a 100 year old energy regime. America needs to be the company cashing these checks. 

Finally, we need to invest in education at all levels. Our last true competitive advantage vis-a-vis the world is being lost and shut down by Republicans like Scott Walker who are anti-education. Schools, teachers, and students should be the focus of greater and greater investment. I would ultimately say that they should receive the lions share of it. This is how we prepare the future. Develop schools that serve the needs of tomorrows employees. Focus on developing curriculums that drive critical analysis and problem solving, as opposed to fact retention. We have books and the internet for that...every small, tiny growth in education ripples across our communities until they are massive waves. 

We could propose an economic agenda that focuses on 3 things 1) fair taxation 2) entrepreneurship and innovation and 3) properly functioning and growing schools. These are three things that most people in the United States can agree on, when we make it about picking winners and loser, our economic agenda as a party no longer becomes a source of strength. Right now, the GOP is no longer trusted to operate the nation's economy. Returning to less government and fair taxation principles will allow us greater opportunities to reach consensus on how to govern, rather than just being opposed to everything.