A GRAND BARGAIN. Barney Frank, the incoming Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, gave a speech in Massachusetts over the weekend calling for a "grand bargain" between business and Democrats. "What we want to do," he said, "is to look at public policies that'll get some bigger share of the increased wealth into wages, and in return you'll see Democrats as internationalists. . .. I really urge the business community to join us." In other words, Democrats will lift their opposition to a variety of free trade bills and regulatory changes if business will drop their opposition to legislation increasing wages, guaranteeing health care ("I think employer-paid health care is a mistake, I think it depresses wages"), and reempowering unions. Likely? Not particularly. Business has gotten so much of what it wants over the past few years that the changes Frank can offer are relatively marginal, while the concessions he's demanding are fundamental economic changes. That said, there could come a moment -- and soon than one might think -- when elements of Frank's agenda, like health care, look good to corporations on their own merits. The automakers are already aching for relief. Wal-Mart has begun to chafe beneath the mountains of bad press their employee relations net them. Small businesses simply can't handle benefit costs. If enough of these companies want to get out of the insurance providing business, Frank's proposed deal could provide them cover for the reversal.
--Ezra Klein
