Opinion | Why I Like Mike

Attracted by the combination of lives saved and climate impact, Pope added, “Bloomberg ponied up. Now, nine years and several renewals later, coal provides only a quarter of U.S. power, and retirements of more than half those coal plants have been secured. These retirements are largely responsible for U.S. climate progress over the last decade.’’ The steady fall in the price of gas and renewables was critical in undermining coal, “but Bloomberg’s $500 million for climate mitigation projects was also critical — as was his insistence that the green group, while using its own tool kit, measure its results rigorously.’’

There is no question that capitalism is not working for enough people in America today. We cannot sustain a middle class, and the democracy that it upholds, without finding better ways to redistribute the pie. Massive inequality stifles growth.

We need to redivide the pie to better grow the pie. We need to raise taxes to invest in infrastructure and in increasing the capacities of our work force, starting with universal pre-K, so every citizen has the tools to adapt to the accelerating pace of change.

But growing the pie, and broadening the middle class, also require celebrating and growing entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship — and fostering a culture of accountability, lifelong learning and self-motivation.

I want a Democratic candidate who is ready to promote all these goals, not one who tries to rile up the base by demonizing our most successful entrepreneurs.

Sure, some deserve demonizing, and some don’t. But can we please remember that our growth and good jobs are driven by risk-takers in the private sector starting new companies and creating more taxpayers. Increasingly, the Democratic left sounds hostile to that whole constituency of job-creators. They sound like an anti-business party — in ways that will hurt them with moderate Republicans, independents and suburban women, too many of whom supported Trump in 2016, then shifted to the Democrats and delivered them the House in 2018, and will be vital for defeating Trump in 2020.

So I’m glad Bloomberg may enter the race, because he will forcefully put a Democratic pro-growth, pro-innovation, pro-business agenda on the table, while also pushing ahead on major social issues.