Rebooting the American Dream

The Ghost of Alexander Hamilton

The United States was once without a substantial industrial base. At its founding, the US exported all its raw materials and bought them back in manufactured form from abroad. Right after the Revolutionary War, George Washington asked treasury chief Alexander Hamilton to rebuild the new nation’s economy. Hamilton’s 11-step plan, introduced in 1791, laid out a protectionist system of tariffs and domestic business stimulus that were central to creating the industrial powerhouse the US became. Ronald Reagan dismantled the economy by promoting free-trade policies that ruined its manufacturing base and gutted its middle class. Now is the time to reverse the legacy of Reaganomics and rebuild the US with another 11-point plan:

1. No More Free Trade

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, better known as President Barack Obama’s stimulus bill, saved close to three million jobs and kept the economy out of deeper recession. Because of the US’s diminished industrial base, however, the stimulus created millions of new jobs in China. The nation must restore its manufacturing plants and institute protectionism to retain the jobs...