Government That Works

President Biden's theme of unity is hopeful and necessary. Most Americans are exhausted by identity politics and polarization. But what change is needed to bring Americans together again, and to reclaim shared values of individual and community responsibility?

Most observers focus on new policies and better politics in Washington. The greater need, we believe, is to make government more human and practical in the daily lives of citizens. Leave room for Americans to roll up their sleeves and make things work.

Today in The Washington Post, George Will argues that America's sluggish response to Covid-19 is the "canary in the bureaucratic mine." Drawing on Philip Howard's recent essay published by the Yale Law Journal ("From Progressivism to Paralysis"), Will argues that the quest to "purge human judgment from public choices" has resulted in a slow, inevitable "sense of powerlessness." People don't take responsibility because they're not allowed to.

The path to unity is not de-regulation, but simpler regulation focused on goals. Give back to Americans the freedom to use common sense, and hold us accountable for how we do. This requires not changing policies, but rebooting public operating systems to honor human agency. Scrap the phony ideal of "perfect compliance," with its thousand-page rulebooks. Initiative and accountability, not mindless compliance, are what's needed to bring Americans together again.

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