Breathtakingly ambitious: That’s how many observers describe the $2 trillion infrastructure proposal unveiled by President Biden last week. It contains scores of programs aimed at updating America’s obsolete infrastructure and addressing climate change.

It’s time to rethink the role of public employee unions in democratic governance. Public union intransigence has contributed to two of the most socially destructive events in the COVID-19 era. Rebuilding the economy after the pandemic ends also will be more difficult if state and local governments have to abide by featherbedding and other artificial union mandates.

The Biden administration can reverse this dangerous decline of trust by launching an independent commission to report on why government performs so poorly. By focusing on public operating systems, the commission could address broad discontent in ways that transcend party lines.

The Progressive Movement succeeded in replacing laissez-faire with public oversight of safety and markets. But its vision of neutral administration, in which officials in lab coats mechanically applied law, never reflected the realities and political tradeoffs in most public choices. The result, after fifty years, is public paralysis. In an effort to avoid bad public choices, the operating system precludes good public choices. It must be rebuilt to honor human agency and reinvigorate democratic choices.

“America is deeply divided”: That’s the post-mortem wisdom from this year’s election. Surveys repeatedly show, however, that most Americans share the same core values and goals, such as responsibility, accountability, and fairness. One issue that enjoys overwhelming popular support is the need to fix broken government.