My friend J, an economics major and also a fervent Obama-maniac, just posted this on his Facebook. He is submitting it to a newspaper, but had to chop it up significantly to pass the 200 word limit. Thought I’d pass it along in it’s original version:

Listening to the sound bites and reading the one-liners from the Democratic campaign, it seems there is much to lament about our economy, but no plan that can meet the challenge. From the sub-prime mortgage crisis to seven years of stagnant wages for most Americans, the woes are great.

The fact is: there are solutions that the media is not covering. Both candidates offer specific plans that, so far, receive little attention. Barack Obama’s Blueprint for Change and Hillary Clinton’s issue papers address economic conditions, and one of those plans is better for Kansans and the country.

First, Obama’s plan addresses a behavior known to economists as “rent-seeking.” Obama’s plan stops the lobbyist influence over regulating authorities, influence that thwarts competition and enriches the few at taxpayers’ expense. Clinton embraces these special interests in her campaign. (See this NYT article for Frmr. Pres. Clinton’s entanglements)

Second, Obama better understands the role of infrastructure, and his plan contains unique provisions to advance the technical systems underlying the new economy. Obama calls for research on energy efficiency in industry and transport. Advances like these benefit everyone in the economy. They are, as economists say, “public goods” that Clinton’s plan overlooks.

Third, Obama’s plan makes the connection between individual finance and the national economy. It calls for a five-star credit card rating system that forewarns of the risks hidden in the fine print. It supports collective bargaining and growing wages for workers in ways that prevent bankruptcies from happening in the first place. Our economy is made up of real people whose voices and concerns matter, even if the Clinton plan suggests it is just the banking sector that needs help, and even if Sen. Clinton’s former colleagues from board of Wal-mart won’t acknowledge it.

The Clinton campaign portrays Obama’s promise of change as hollow. Indeed, in the media, talk—especially Obama’s beautiful, moving prose—garners more attention than action, but this is one case in which beauty is not just skin deep. When it comes to our economy, it is Obama’s Blueprint for Change that offers the action America needs.