A Democrat Who Is Thinking Differently
About this episode
Klein asks Rep. Jake Auchincloss what the Democrats' alternative to Trump should be. Auchincloss argues Democrats shouldn't offer a 'Diet Coke' imitation of MAGA populism but a distinct agenda centered on lowering the cost of living. He explains Baumol's cost disease — why labor-intensive sectors like housing and health care inflate faster than the economy — and says Democrats must attack costs directly: zoning reform plus modular construction, even governor-chartered new cities; shifting health care focus from subsidizing insurance to funding delivery like community health centers and curbing pharmacy-benefit middlemen. He backs the 'abundance' push to turn services into products, proposes AI tutoring in schools, and wants confrontation with social media giants — enforcing the TikTok sale, reforming Section 230, and taxing harvested attention to fund local journalism. He closes by urging Democrats to stop lecturing voters and to fix primaries and gerrymandering that empower ideological interest groups.