Outsourcing Democracy Has Run Its Course
How does change happen in Washington? The list of needed changes is long — to address climate change, unmanageable schools, runaway healthcare costs, unaccountable police, obsolete laws, and more.
Decades go by, and none of these problems get fixed. Even President Biden's ambitious infrastructure proposal (which incorporates Common Good's proposals for permitting reform) doesn't take on the core changes needed to address climate change.
Washington plows forward, occasionally adding new programs but almost never fixing old ones. Thousands of interest groups use their influence to keep it that way. Frustration at Washington intransigence breeds extremism on both sides. Extremism, ironically, reinforces the status quo. Republicans can win voters with a platform of "Just say no."
Washington won't fix itself. Change always happens because of outside pressure. In the current Newsweek, Philip Howard proposes a radical centrist movement consisting of environmentalists, parents, police reformers, fiscal moderates, and citizens who believe in local empowerment. None of these groups by themselves can disrupt the status quo. Together, they can mobilize public demand to reboot Washington.
The new UN report on climate change concludes that reform is now or never — "code red for humanity," in the words of the UN Secretary General. Why would any responsible person take the risk of inaction?
Outsourcing democracy to the current political parties is not working. It's time for change, but change won't be led by political insiders. Let us know if you would like to get involved.
The bipartisan infrastructure bill that recently passed the Senate includes reforms that Common Good proposed in our report "Two Years, Not Ten Years," and has been advocating in congressional hearings and meetings. These reforms include 'one federal decision,' a two-year timetable for environmental reviews, and page limits on environmental impact statements. As Sen. Rob Portman noted in Barron's, these reforms "will make a real difference in reducing the time and cost for major infrastructure projects."
Common Good advisor Ron Faucheux makes the case for overhauling the civil service system in the Washington Examiner.
Political scientist Don Kettl analyzes possible civil service reforms in Governing, quoting our work.