WASHINGTON — Democrats in Congress are moving quickly to impose their economic agenda now that they’ve returned to power on Capitol Hill. They’re shrugging off strong macro-economic indicators to spotlight sluggish wage growth and a rise in mortgage defaults, and they’re even pressuring the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates. Many Democrats campaigned against the trend of widening income inequality, and they’re trying to make good on promises to push economic policy to better serve the poor and middle classes. Democrats don’t dispute that 4.8 percent unemployment is near historic lows. And they acknowledge that the economy continues to grow at nearly its potential, despite a housing recession. Even so, they’re homing in on narrower issues, such as a rise in mortgage defaults by holders of sub-prime loans, who tend to be minorities and working-class Americans. And they’re addressing the job insecurity and general unease many Americans feel over how much the global economy now influences the U.S. economy. ‘They’re trying to tap into pockets of discontent,’ said Brian Bethune, chief U.S. economist for Global Insight, a consultancy in Lexington, Mass. ‘From a point of view of the economy as a whole, the performance of the […]