For decades, Philip Howard has been sounding the alarm: our government is broken, and tinkering around the edges won’t work. We need a new operating system. How did it break? What do both parties get wrong? And what will it take to revive the American spirit?

In this conversation with host Joe Lonsdale, they begin with the genesis of the red tape state, and why Philip believes the collective guilt of the 1960s led to well-intentioned but ill-designed policies that broke the government. He explains how law began to supplant human judgment, politicians stopped making hard decisions, and governance was outsourced to an instruction manual run by the professional class. Next, they dive into Philip's new book, Saving Can-Do, beginning with what makes the American “can-do” attitude unique. Then, Philip offers solutions for reinstating human authority into our institutions. And finally, a new framework for enabling America to build again. Philip makes the compelling case that what our republic needs most of all is a return to accountability over compliance, amateurs over professionals, and liberty over safetyism.

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Philip Howard is an outspoken authority on government reform whose books include The Death of Common Sense and Saving Can-Do. He is also co-host Charlotte Howard’s father. In a special episode aiming to reflect tetchy political discussions over Thanksgiving dinner, they discuss America’s bureaucratic morass and why escaping it is so difficult.

John Prideaux hosts with Charlotte Howard and James Bennet.

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Lawyers usually like the law. The more the better. But in addition to his life as a lawyer, Philip Howard has made a second career out of criticizing the invasion of law into American society. In books like The Death of Common Sense, Life Without Lawyers and his latest, Saving Can-Do, Howard argues that a uncontrolled thicket of legal red tape is undermining innovation in America. The lawyer’s central thesis is against the law: America has morphed from a can-do nation into a can’t-do society where individual judgment has been replaced by legal central planning, and where citizens must ask lawyers for permission before acting. 

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As our nation faces a profound moment of political disruption, neither party is offering a vision to overhaul America’s broken governance. In Saving Can-Do, Philip Howard offers a bold and simple governing vision: Replace red tape with responsibility and let Americans hold each other accountable.

At this book event, Philip, AEI’s Philip Wallach, and The Washington Post’s George Will discuss how scrapping the red-tape state can enable America to reclaim the power of its unique can-do culture.

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Former Speaker Newt Gingrich talks with Philip Howard about his new book, ‘Saving Can-Do.’ Philip discusses the pervasive issue of bureaucratic red tape that has stifled common sense and effective governance since the 1960s. He argues that the legal system has become overly complex, with 150 million words in federal law and regulation, compared to the 7,500 words of the U.S. Constitution. Philip advocates for a multi-year effort to replace these cumbersome bureaucracies with simpler codes that empower individuals to use their judgment.

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We may be in an incredibly important moment for reimagining and reinventing what government can be. On this episode of Management Matters with James-Christian Blockwood, we talk to Philip Howard, Founder and Chair of Common Good, about some of the possibilities of this consequential moment for government. 

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Aaron Renn sits down with Philip Howard to discuss the crippling bureaucratic red tape stifling America’s ability to build and innovate. From the New Deal’s rapid achievements to today’s endless legal labyrinths, Howard proposes a bold solution: a framework rooted in human responsibility and accountability to restore America’s can-do spirit.

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DOGE seems hellbent on taking an indiscriminate chainsaw to the government itself instead of pruning and cutting back in strategic ways. Philip Howard talks with Larry Rifkin about what needs to be done to enhance the performance of government and hold political leaders to account.

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So far the Trump administration’s DOGE initiative has focused on cutting programs and terminating civil servants, not reforms to improve public performance. But there's broad public and expert opinion that government operating systems are overdue for overhaul.

This forum focused on the operational failures of the current state, and included proposals to empower common sense solutions, make government more manageable, and clarify the role of oversight by courts.

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Philip Howard talks with Lynn Thoman about how public employee unions have a grip on the operating machinery of government, and how to restore accountability and honor to public service.

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Philip Howard talks with Tom Temin about DOGE, and the need to rethink how the government does what it does.

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Philip Howard and Will Marshall of the Progressive Policy Institute talk with Margaret Hoover about President Trump's deep state blitz, what DOGE is getting wrong, and their advice for Elon Musk in a forum at Hofstra University.

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Philip Howard gave the keynote address at a forum on improving federal government performance. It was co-hosted by Indiana University, the National Academy of Public Administration, and the Partnership for Public Service.

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Philip Howard joins Michael J. Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss what it takes to create positive school environments, as outlined in his recent Hoover Institution essay, “The Human Authority Needed for Good Schools.”

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On "Forbes Newsroom," Philip Howard spoke about Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy's proposed Department of Government Efficiency, and how President-elect Trump can use their cost-cutting recommendations—despite ‘DOGE’ operating outside of the federal government.

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Does modern society have too many laws? Have we complicated legal codes to the point where we’re suffocating under them and grinding the government to a screeching halt?

Philip Howard and Greg LaBlanc discuss the balance between rigid rules and human discretion, the importance of human judgment in law, and how legal micromanagement and excessive regulation curtails individual agency and practical wisdom.

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Joe Klein and John Ellis talk to Philip Howard about broken government, and where to begin to fix it.

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