I was never supposed to be a United States senator. The bipartisan political establishment made that very clear in 2009. Our country has changed a lot since then, but one thing remains constant: the establishment is more interested in hoarding power than making life better for most Americans.
Evidence of this is all around us. For example, Republicans and Democrats alike shield Wall Street from common-sense tax policies. Both parties sided with Warren Buffet over the rail workers last month. And both are content to run scorched-earth political campaigns that enrich consultants while tearing apart the fabric of our communities. Decades of this decadence and incompetence have brought America to the brink. Communities have been hollowed out, institutions torn down, faith marginalized, and the common good ignored.
Every official is eager to call out the villains—and we should—but we cannot chart a new course unless we win elections. And we will not win elections unless we give people a reason to vote for us. A reason to be optimistic about our nation. A reason to donate their time, energy, and resources to the project of American renewal. As I see it, we have three main tasks ahead of us.
First, we need to rebalance our domestic economy by putting Wall Street in its place. At their best, America’s capital markets facilitate growth and innovation by connecting people who have good ideas to those with money to invest in good ideas. At their…
