New Ideas

Michael Barone, RCP with some new policy ideas for 2008 to win back the suburbs. While I'm not in favor of his "big government" conservatism, Barone directs us to the states, which have been laboratories of conservative reform before and offer us direction now:

They would do well to look to the states, and especially to Florida, where Jeb Bush has enacted innovative policies on school choice and healthcare. They could look at some Democrats, as well, like Tennessee's Gov. Phil Bredesen, who has been reforming an overly generous Medicaid program. They could highlight the proposal of Republican Rep. John Shadegg of Arizona to allow people to buy health insurance across state lines. They could consider Clinton Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin's proposal to get lower-income workers to save and invest with tax credits for IRA contributions.

This earlier from David Frum, WSJ (Nov. 9):

President Bush has repeatedly asked Congress to make permanent his cuts in the income, dividend, estate and capital-gains taxes, as well as his doubling of the child tax credit. Congress has hesitated, citing fears of the impact of permanent tax cuts on the U.S. fiscal balance. These cuts constitute the most valuable element of Mr. Bush's domestic legacy. It's worth fighting to remind the country that Democrats would allow the president's tax relief to lapse -- and that if Democrats are allowed to return to power, taxes will shoot back up in 2010.

The president should send Congress a tax-reform proposal now, shaping it so that it appeals to enough Democrats to split the opposition. Here's one way to do that: Democrats have made a great theme of "energy independence." The president has likewise denounced America's "addiction to oil" and often presented nuclear power as a crucial element of an ideal energy policy. What if he baited the Democrats with some kind of energy tax (or, better, a carbon tax -- which exempts nuclear-generated energy) in exchange for permanent cuts in taxes on work, savings and investment. "Tax waste, not work" is not a bad slogan.

On education:

George Bush entered politics as an educational reformer. Now, he can return to the good fight by scooping an idea from an opponent. Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich has proposed a voucher system that would grant progressively larger vouchers to children from poorer families. Given how much taxpayers already pay to support the nation's worst schools -- the District of Columbia spends more per child than any other jurisdiction -- Mr. Reich's idea might even save money. But it would certainly put the cat among the Democratic pigeons, especially if the president recruited Mr. Reich to lobby for it.

Good ideas all.