Five Industrial Policy Lessons We’ve Learned

The Present and Future of Industrial Policy

In 2019, the International Monetary Fund was calling industrial policy “the policy that shall not be named.”

Just three years later, a historic string of industrial policy wins are poised to reshape our economy as we know it—from the Inflation Reduction Act, to the CHIPS and Science Act, to executive actions to boost domestic clean energy supply.

“It’s difficult to overstate how rapid industrial policy’s rise has been in progressive thinking and US policy more broadly,” Roosevelt’s Todd N. Tucker writes.

That momentum was a central focus of Roosevelt’s October 7 forum, “Progressive Industrial Policy: 2022 and Beyond,” which gathered more than 200 policymakers, activists, and scholars—including US Trade Representative Katherine Tai; Wally Adeyemo, deputy secretary, Department of Treasury; and John Podesta, senior advisor to the president for clean energy innovation and implementation.

The forum also offered an opportunity to zoom out and reflect on lessons learned, Tucker writes. “From my perch as Director of Industrial Policy and Trade, five major lessons stand out.”

For more from Roosevelt’s progressive industrial policy forum, watch event sessions here, and read Tucker’s Twitter thread. Catch up on Financial Times columnist and panel moderator Rana Foroohar’s takeaways, and see analysis of Ambassador Tai’s speech in Paul Krugman’s latest New York Times piece. 

A Progressive Vision for the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court is back in session, causing many progressives to ask: What does the Court’s conservative 6-3 majority mean for the current and future state of our democracy?

“It’s going to be very hard . . . to tackle changes that are existential for the United States, like climate change, without addressing the actual persons and the majority on this court,” Yale Law professor Amy Kapczynksi tells hosts Felicia Wong and Michael Tomasky on this week’s episode of How to Save a Country.

Kapcyzynski, Wong, and Tomasky discuss the Court’s future, how law shapes our economy, and the positive vision progressives should move toward to protect democracy’s commitment to equality, racial justice, and reproductive freedom.

Listen now, and follow for new podcast episodes every Thursday.

What We’re Reading

As the Fed Fights Inflation, Worries Rise That It’s Overcorrecting [feat. Roosevelt fellow Lindsay Owens] – Washington Post

Inflation Is a Threat. But It May Not Be the Biggest We Face. [by Roosevelt fellow J.W. Mason] – Barron’s

Linking Racial and Economic Justice: The Struggle of Our Time [feat. Roosevelt senior fellow Darrick Hamilton] – Nonprofit Quarterly