(wfu.edu) THE ‘NEW ECONOMY’ IS NOTHING NEW – David Coates, Worrell Professor of Anglo-American Studies at Wake Forest University, says that the argument about the United States moving into a ‘new economy’ can be overstated. “Yes, the federal government is now heavily involved in ownership in sectors not normally so treated, such as the financial and automotive sectors,” he says, “but the federal government has long been a big economic player through Pentagon contracts, agricultural subsidies and National Institutes of Health research funding, just to name a few examples.” In addition, Coates suggests the United States needs more, not less, active industrial policy in order to address looming issues of long-term economic decline such as de-industrialization, a persistent shortfall in worker skills and the international trade deficit. Finally, Coates suggests that the term ‘new economy’ is being used to provoke fear that the United States is becoming a socialist country. “We’re not,” he says. “This is just an incremental shift towards a more managed economy, and after the financial meltdown, the case for a more carefully regulated financial sector is visibly stronger.”

You can also click here to view Professor Coates tell us why socialized medicine is a great choice.

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