Big problems require big solutions

A confused and befuddled Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, grasping at straws, have a formulated a nearly perfect compression of their tired lesser-of-two-evils rhetoric -- "A Better Deal," promoting the new slogan under the misapprehension that it's bad marketing instead of bad politics that's the cause of their electoral headaches.

The road to capitalism triumphant is pocked by financial crises: 1819, 1837, 1857, 1884, 1901, 1907, 1929, 1937, 1974, 1987, 2008... 

But what accounts for that long break after WWII, 30 years of widespread prosperity and economic growth? 

One key factor, besides sizable opportunities in the construction industry afforded by worldwide devastation, is that during these decades banks were severely regulated, capital movement was constricted, exchange rates were limited.

In judging the seriousness of the Democrats in the months ahead, their willingness to rein in the financial giants will be key. Other vital issues -- infrastructure, empire, jobs, climate change, affordable universal education and health care -- cannot be addressed by a party still afraid to pursue any policy that might inconvenience rich people.

We need a new era of big government to address big problems. More than a Better Deal, we need a Big Deal.