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Ro Khanna unveils new economic vision for America
The plan outlines investments in manufacturing, workforce training, and expanded economic guarantees.
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Malvika Choudhary - Wed, 15, Apr 2026
- 12:50 EDT
- 31
Congressman Ro Khanna / Ro Khanna website
Congressman Ro Khanna on April 14 called for a sweeping overhaul of the American economic model, warning that declining public trust, widening inequality, and job insecurity are undermining confidence in democratic institutions.
Speaking at the National Press Club, Khanna said the United States is facing a “crisis in self-government,” pointing to growing disillusionment driven by wealth concentration, economic insecurity, and what he described as an entrenched elite system he termed the “Epstein class.”
Also Read: Khanna, Greene pitch cross-party coalition on corruption, debt
According to the California Democrat, distrust in government is fueled by perceptions of corruption and impunity among powerful elites, while many communities face stagnation despite broader economic growth.
“The American Dream is out of reach for many of our fellow citizens,” Khanna said, citing globalization, automation, and economic concentration as forces reshaping livelihoods without sufficient accountability.
Framing the current moment as a new “Gilded Age,” Khanna outlined what he called “New Economic Patriotism,” a policy framework centered on domestic investment, industrial policy, workforce development, and shared economic growth.
The proposal includes a federal jobs program modeled on the Works Progress Administration, a National Industrial Bank to finance sectors such as semiconductors, advanced manufacturing, and other critical technologies, and a nationwide expansion of trade schools and technology institutes to prepare workers for emerging industries including artificial intelligence and robotics.
Khanna also emphasized the “care economy,” including childcare and eldercare, as both a social priority and a source of stable employment and called for expanding worker ownership through profit-sharing in an increasingly AI-driven economy.
The framework incorporates elements of an “Economic Bill of Rights,” including universal healthcare, free public college and trade education, subsidized childcare, and measures to address housing affordability.
He said the agenda would be funded by reallocating federal spending, including reductions in defense expenditures, and increasing taxes on billionaires, framing it as a shift in national priorities.
“It is patriotic to pay our fair share. This is not anti-business. This is pro-America,” he said.
Khanna said the initiative is intended to reduce economic divides and restore confidence in democratic governance, calling for coordinated action between government, business, and workers to rebuild struggling communities.
“We don’t need to be a nation in fear,” he said, calling for “dynamic government" that works towards rebuilding the American Dream.
The plan comes as Khanna has recently said he is considering a potential run for president in 2028.
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