Our Agenda

American Prosperity Agenda: Winning the Future

New Democrat Coalition
American Prosperity Agenda
Tomorrow’s middle-class prosperity depends on what we do today.

America’s promise has always been the possibility of opportunity and a better life.Here, any of us can dare to start a small business and watch it thrive. Here, our children can study hard, attend college, and achieve their goals. In America, all of us should have the opportunity to earn a living, own a home, put away something for retirement, and pursue dreams big and small. In short, the promise is that middle class Americans can achieve real and lasting prosperity for ourselves and be confident that our kids will get there too.

This success makes us the envy of the world. But the world isn’t waiting for America’s next move – it’s racing to catch up and pass us. Now more than ever, we need to sharpen the innovative edge that makes America home of the world’s greatest scientists, researchers, dreamers and entrepreneurs, while connecting our businesses with the skilled workers they need. These efforts will lay the foundation for a new era of middle class prosperity, one that rewards hard work with the mainstays of a middle-class life: the ability to put kids through college, save a few dollars for retirement, afford reliable health care, and own a home.

The Great Recession taught us that we need a new fundamental bargain not only to strengthen our middle class, but to lend a hand to all those seeking to join it. This bargain must ensure that all families share in the new prosperity, especially those who still feel left behind in the wake of our economic downturn. Americans want to see real action, with government and the private sector working hand in hand, to make our future happen. The economy is recovering at a faster pace, with 2014 being the strongest year of private-sector job growth since 1999. If we work together—left and right, the government and private sector, employers and workers—and focus on the values we share as Americans, we can all succeed.

Now is the time to seize the opportunities of a new economy. Our country’s advantages in technology and innovation can be leveraged with policies that promote public and private investment in the national infrastructure needed to grow the economy and a recommitment to improving the responsiveness and effectiveness of government, restoring Americans’ faith in our ability to solve real problems.

The New Democrat Coalition understands what the American middle class needs to succeed in this economy and the next one. Our middle class is more than an artificial set of numbers on paper—it’s who we are. It’s the backbone and the lifeblood of our economic success. We need a new middle class prosperity agenda that keeps America’s engine revving, creates high-paying jobs, and improves the skills of all Americans who seek them. We now unveil just such an agenda – one that will help generations of Americans realize the promise of our nation.