RFK Jr. Proposes Economic Policies with Wide Appeal
RFK Jr.’s Economic Policy Proposals Appeal to Each Quadrant
A Pew Research Center survey of the U.S. general public, in 2021, showed nine clusters of political beliefs and values, as described in an earlier post. The names and a limited number of descriptors are included in the quadrants below.
Each of the statements in the quadrants below are drawn as direct quotes from www.kennedy24.com in the page for economic policies, except for statements in brackets which are a paraphrase, summary, or implication. These statements are placed in the quadrants and Pew types where they arguably most fit the agendas each cares about most.
The next three sections describe how RFK Jr. plans to finance the benefits mentioned in the quadrants. Altho these were mentioned in the quadrants, they are emphasized as the main plan to avoid increasing taxes for the majority of citizens.
Reduce Military Spending to Boost the Economy
RFK Jr. has discussed military policy in several, often making a compelling case that there was a clear opportunity to avert the war diplomatically, but that presidential advisors favored the interests of military industrial profiteers. He advocates for reduced spending, given that “America spends as much on weaponry as the next nine nations combined” (para. 1). This is the context in which he advocates the following:
End the military adventures and regime-change wars, like the one in Ukraine. The wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, and Libya already cost us over $8 trillion. That’s $90,000 per family of four. That’s enough to pay off all medical debt, all credit card debt, provide free childcare, feed every hungry child, repair our infrastructure, and make college tuition free — with money left over. That’s enough to make social security solvent for another 30 years.
Related podcast interview guests include the following (on Apple and Spotify):
Col. Douglas Macgregor, author of Breaking the Phalanx advocating for army reform
Jeffrey Sachs, former special adviser to the UN Secretary-General and public policy analyst
Scott Ritter, former Marine Corps Intelligence Officer, former UN weapons inspector
Jack Carr, former Navy Seal and Afghanistan veteran
Benjamin Abelow, author of How The West Brought War To Ukraine
Tax the Rich Fairly to Boost the Economy
www.kennedy24.com section on economic policy states the following:
End the corruption in Washington, the corporate giveaways, the boondoggles, the bailouts of the too-big-to-fail that leave the little guy at the mercy of the market. Corporations right now are sitting on $8 trillion in cash. Their contribution to tax revenues was 33% in the 1950s — it is 10% today. It’s high time they paid their fair share.
Raise the Minimum Wage to Boost the Economy
Democrat and billionaire Nick Hanauer has also been a strong proponent of the $15 minimum wage. His podcast Pitchfork Economics has several episodes—with economists Dean Baker, Yannet Lathrop, and Michael Reich—which focus on the positive effects in cities that have instituted this as law.
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Repeat of Quadrants Content
This section repeats the writing in the quadrants, for any who have difficulty reading in that format. Groups are presented in order of political party size.
Auth-Left Quadrant
Pew type: Democratic mainstays
• Older, less college educated
• Most identify as moderate
• Most racially and ethnically diverse
• Liberal views on race, economics, and the social safety net, but conservative on immigration, crime, military
RFK Jr.’s economic policies that would appeal to the democratic mainstays:
• Prosecute union-busting corporations so that labor can organize and negotiate fair wages. Cut energy prices by restricting natural gas exports.
Pew type: Establishment liberals
• Liberal but prefer gradual change
• More likely to back compromise
RFK Jr.’s economic policies that would appeal to the establishment liberals:
• Rein in military spending and use the resources to fund infrastructure, health care, higher education, childcare
• Cut drug costs by half to bring them in line with other nations.
Auth-Right Quadrant
Pew type: Committed conservatives
• Pro-business
• Pro well-managed immigration
• Want limited government
RFK Jr. economic policies that would appeal to the committed conservatives):
• Support small businesses by redirecting regulatory scrutiny onto large corporations.
Pew type: Faith and flag conservatives
• Deeply conservative across issues
• Christianity belongs in public life
RFK Jr.’s economic policies that would appeal to the faith and flag conservatives:
• “the price of an average home” for purchase or rent has almost doubled [implication: harder for young people to afford to live on their own to start a family]. Drop housing costs by $1000 per family and make home ownership affordable by backing 3% home mortgages with tax-free bonds.
Lib-Right Quadrant
Pew type: Populist right
• Least college educated
• Most fervent hard-liners on immigration
• Say U.S. law favors a powerful few
• Say tax the rich more
RFK Jr.’s economic policies that would appeal to the populist right:
• Rampant corruption in Washington has put corporations in charge, enriching the wealthiest as working people dropped out of the middle class. Negotiate trade deals that prevent low-wage countries from competing with American workers in a “race to the bottom.”
• Secure the border and bring illegal immigration to a halt, so undocumented migrants won’t undercut wages.
• Corruption: Clean out the corruption in Washington, D.C., which funnels so much of our nation’s wealth to giant corporations and billionaires.
Pew type: Ambivalent right
• Young, not religious
• Want limited government
• Want stricter immigration policy
RFK Jr.’s economic policies that would appeal to the ambivalent right:
• Official unemployment is low, but most of the new jobs are in the low-pay service sector.
Lib-left (Green) Quadrant
Pew type: Progressive left
• Young and highly educated
• Pro Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren
• Extremely liberal policy positions
RFK Jr.’s economic policies that would appeal to the progressive left:
• Expand free childcare to millions of families with programs like that pioneered by the state of New Mexico.
• Make student debt dischargeable in bankruptcy and cut interest rates on student loans to zero.
Pew type: Outsider left
• Especially liberal on issues of race, immigration, and climate
• Many identify as independents
• Don’t believe the U.S. is the best nation
RFK Jr.’s economic policies that would appeal to the outsider left:
• We will end the forever wars. A massive military machine has nearly bankrupted this country.
• Drug addiction: Establish addiction healing centers on organic farms across the country.