Winning the Future

New Democrat Coalition Chairman Ron Kind (WI-03) was featured in the 2017 Game Changer Booklet by the Silicon Valley Leadership Group. He touts the New Democrat Coalition’s American Prosperity Agenda: Winning the Future as the legislative roadmap for our country to grow and prosper in the changing 21st century economy. He writes: “The New Democrat Coalition is committed to seeking pragmatic solutions to help hard-working Americans compete in the increasingly globalized economy and ensure our families and communities are secure from threats around the world.”

The Silicon Valley Leadership Group’s 2017 Game Changers: Ideas, Inspiration & Innovation booklet is filled with inspirational and thought-provoking essays featuring leaders, entrepreneurs, policy makers and many other authors.

Congressman Kind’s essay, Winning the Future can be found on page 27 of the booklet or below:

There is no question that today’s economy isn’t the one I grew up in. And, it won’t be the one my grandchildren grow up in either. In the past two decades, the Internet and a rapid boom in technology have forever changed the shape of our economy. Americans have seen the immense benefits these technological advances have had in their everyday lives. However, more and more Americans are concerned about what these changes may mean for their place in the economy.

America’s changing economy will be a game changer in 2017. Today’s America requires efforts to find the most innovative, effective solutions for adapting to these economic changes.

I serve as Chairman of the New Democrat Coalition, a group of 52 democratic, pro-growth, innovation focused lawmakers, and through this have worked with other Members of Congress to help Americans win in the changing global economy. The New Democrat Coalition is committed to seeking pragmatic solutions to help hard-working Americans compete in the increasingly globalized economy and ensure our families and communities are secure from threats around the world.

The New Dem American Prosperity Agenda: Winning the Future outlines how we can grow our economy, preserve the American Dream and make government work better for the people. These principles represent ideas anyone — Democrat, Republican or Independent — can support. We need bipartisan, commonsense solutions to keep America the most competitive, creative and innovative country in the world.

New Dem members supported the passage and implementation of The Jump Start Our Business Start-Ups (JOBS) Act to bolster new entrepreneurs trying to raise early-stage capital and have innovative ideas to help government work better for the people, such as Yelp for Government, which allows federal agencies to set up Yelp pages to be more responsive to public feedback.

We need to be legislating for the economy of the future, not the economy of 50 years ago. This means identifying ways to make government more efficient and give all Americans the opportunity to succeed. We need to write the rules of trade to elevate standards by prohibiting the exploitation of child and forced labor while leveling the playing field for our workers, businesses and farmers. We also need to be investing in innovative policies that will help us maintain our status as a global leader in areas like developing groundbreaking technology and moving toward sustainable energy. On top of that we need robust investments in our transportation, energy and digital infrastructure.

Our workers have always been and will continue to be our country’s greatest asset. With the economy changing we need to increase investments in education and job training programs so no one is left behind. Providing access to quality education is one of the best things we can do to reduce income inequality in our lives. We also need to pass comprehensive immigration reform to attract and keep additional talent we need to be competitive.

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