Obama's Plan to Revive Industrial 'Rust Belt'

Last month, Gene Sperling, a top economic advisor to Barack Obama, gave a major speech on economic policy before the Conference on the Renaissance of American Manufacturing. The gist of the remarks: How and why the Obama administration planned to reverse the decades-long hemorrhaging of American manufacturing jobs. The details of how this would be achieved â?? targeted tax breaks, investments in infrastructure and education, a tougher line on trade with China â?? were arguably less important than the fact that the administration had decided to spell out an intellectual justification for the agenda. Whatâ??s most interesting about Sperlingâ??s speech is how it breaks against recent Democratic resistance to industrial policy.