Where to begin? Perhaps by getting this out of the way: of course, a return to progressive taxation is imperative. But you question whether that would actually help the middle class. The answer is, yes, because, otherwise, the middle class will be saddled with paying off the debt incurred by this adminstration and its codependent congress in order to further line the pockets of the wealthy.

Beyond that, there's little to recommend the paternalistic maunderings of the "agenda" in the article you cite. Those of us in what Summers dismissively refers to as "the anxious middle" understand that his proposals are intended as a sop to defuse the demand for real political change that might threaten the perquisites of the self-absorbed upper class. He even says so in the article. "[Populist] economic and political trends are and should be of great concern to the business community as well as to policymakers. They have led to populist policy proposals that cut against the grain of the market system by, for example, limiting free trade agreements, restricting outsourcing or limiting the ability of successful companies to expand."

Populism is so tacky, isn't it? When unrestricted trade agreements and outsourcing threaten American jobs and cause American wages to stagnate while funneling outsized profits to corporations, populists just don't see the benefit.

Summers shows a pretty good understanding of why the middle class is right to be concerned - wage stagnation, even for college graduates, rising corporate profits while real wages do not keep pace with productivity growth. But beyond tax fairness, his list of remedies is short and short-sighted. The government, it seems, should leverage its buying power (is he referring to Medicare Part D?) and insure equitable financing of education. Duh. Beyond that, it is apparently up to corporations to build a safety net for wage earners - better health care coverage and all that. I'm sure that will happen. Probably tomorrow.

Your question is, how big a difference will his ideas make? If the ideas you are talking about are the ones contained in the Financial Times article, then the answer is: not much. You see, they are not really ideas at all. Just a couple of tax fixes that should be obvious to everyone and a vague notion that corporations should do a better job of letting the government outsource its responsibilities to them.

Contrary to your assertion, Democrats should not support the Summers approach, because it is a recipe for preserving the status quo, in other words, for staying the course. If you have not done so, I strongly recommend that you read the comments of Martin Wolfe and Robert Wade at that Financial Times forum.

Republicans, beginning with Reagan and abetted by Democratic supporters of the Corporate Way, have successfully deconstructed the safety net that was thoughtfully and lovingly built up after WWII, and are now decimating the middle class. It is no wonder we are anxious.

It is time to fight back.