Time for a New Contract

I am a product of the social compact that lifted America out of the Great Depression and working Americans into the middle class. My father was an Irish immigrant, a New York City bus driver, and a proud member of the Transport Workers Union. He lived and worked in tough times. But working people, business people, and public officials shared certain understandings.

Here’s what working people knew: if we got up every morning and did our jobs, then we could earn a better life for ourse...