An uncomfortable truth underlies the frustration with democracy that drives people to extremism. That truth is this: Governing sensibly is basically impossible in a bureaucratic and legal jungle. Common sense disappears into the quicksand of thick rulebooks, lengthy processes, and claimed rights. Teachers can’t maintain order, officials can’t approve new transmission lines, and mayors can’t fire rogue cops.
Read MoreThis week, Senator Joe Manchin’s infrastructure permitting reform, aimed at energy projects and supported by The White House, was killed by a weird coalition of Republicans and far-left Democrats. The bill would have expedited the construction of high-speed transmission lines—a reform strongly supported by the editorial board of The Washington Post and other mainstream observers.
Read MorePaul Light at Brookings released a report last week which concluded that “public demand for ‘very major’ government reform is at a twenty-year high” and that “confidence in government to do the right thing is at a historic low.” Citing our work, the report calls for “large-scale repairs to aging systems and broken bureaucracy.”
Read MoreGoverning is not a process of perfection. Like other human activities, governing involves tradeoffs and trial and error. One of the most important tradeoffs involves timing. Delay in governing often means failure. Nowhere is this more true than with environmental reviews for infrastructure. Every year of delay for new power lines, modernized ports, congestion pricing for city traffic, and road bottlenecks means more pollution and inefficiency.
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Former EPA General Counsel E. Donald Elliott traces Philip Howard’s and Common Good’s efforts to streamline infrastructure permitting. “Every successful reform needs a sponsor, someone who is committed to seeing it through thick and thin over the years that it takes to get things done,” he writes.
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Philip Howard talks with Cheryl Lumley on the Bold & Blunt podcast.
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Philip Howard talks with Jon Caldara about the effects of public sector unions.
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There’s a lot going on in the world, with Ukraine, Canadian truckers, and more. So it was easy to miss the report of the White House Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment, released on February 7. The Task Force, chaired by Vice President Kamala Harris, calls for expanding collective bargaining throughout society, including in government.
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Philip Howard joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Howard’s essay American Purpose essay “Accountability on Trial,” which contends that accountability is being undercut by public union contracts.
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Coming into the new year, it is vital to come to grips with the disease that most threatens American democracy—nearly universal distrust of its governing institutions. The anger and polarization rivening society are symptoms of distrust.
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The first anniversary of the January 6 mob at the Capitol has prompted lots of commentary about how polarized America is. But why is America polarized? The frustration and anger that drives people to extremes isn't made up.
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What can we do about our country? That’s the question I hear most often. Washington is mired in a kind of trench warfare, with no prospects of forward movement. And Americans today can be divided into two camps: discouraged or angry. Americans are retreating into warring identity groups as extremists demand absolutist solutions to defeat the other side. It’s nighttime in America.
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What can we do about our country? That’s the question I hear most often. Washington is mired in a kind of trench warfare, with no prospects of forward movement. And Americans today can be divided into two camps: discouraged or angry.
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America needs a new public narrative, with new leaders. The key, we think, is to replace red tape with human responsibility. Nothing will get fixed until we re-empower Americans to roll up their sleeves and make things work again.
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The $1.2 trillion package is about $10,000 for every American household. Without implementation oversight, the money will gush out of Washington without any discipline over, for example, New York work rules that can make infrastructure projects five times as expensive as in other developed countries.
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By opening the door to a new party, Yang once again reveals solid leadership instincts. But a new movement requires a tougher, more focused platform. A list of centrist do-good reforms is unlikely to elicit the public passion needed to dislodge the current parties. Yang himself is a bold and disarming figure; his party must be as well. A new party needs a clarion call that can galvanize popular support.
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Politics today seems dominated by loonies and fanatics: On the right, "Stop the steal" and anti-vaxxers; on the left, "woke" thought-police and spendthrift policies with no implementation plan. Extremists succeed mainly in driving us apart, not (so far) changing government. But do the leaders of either party offer a coherent governing vision?
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There are about 5 trillion reasons to worry about the massive Biden spending proposal, but at least $1 trillion of it is aimed at overdue infrastructure needs — roads, transmission lines, broadband, water, and other "hard" infrastructure that will improve America's competitiveness and environmental sustainability.
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President Biden’s breathtaking $5 trillion infrastructure agenda — about $50,000 in debt for each American family — is stalling on broad skepticism on both the goals and means of spending that money. … There’s a deal to be made here: Use this moment to overhaul how Washington spends money.
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Authority in America has been broadly replaced by a procedural framework. People with responsibility — including university presidents, principals, public officials and business managers — believe they can't enforce any values unless explicitly set forth in a rule, or can be proved by objective evidence. Who are they to judge?
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