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Washington used to be petty and inept. Now it’s a roller-coaster. What will Trump do tomorrow? New York too. Is the “warmthof collectivism” promised by Mayor Mamdani a precursor for class warfare?
Americans are right to want a new vision for governing. But the political instinct for radical cures ignores a main cause of public frustration—the inability of government to do almost anything sensibly.
Sooner or later the focus on affordability will shine the spotlight on how government spends taxpayer dollars—almost 40% of GDP is spent by government. How much is wasted, how much productive initiative is stymied, when government is effectively unmanageable?
The strength of America, I think, is our culture of self-determination. What we choose to do, and how we do it, is up to each of us. We can make a difference—to ourselves and our community. This sense of ownership creates what Tocqueville saw as “a superabundant force, and an energy which is inseparable from it.” It also creates a hopeful culture—the future can be better because we can make it better.
Americans’ confidence has eroded in recent decades. This is due in part to the intrusion of forces beyond any individual’s control—global markets that supplant jobs and opportunities; centralized bureaucracies that suffocate human instincts and interactions; and cultural clashes that dislodge community values.
Even Americans who are “doing well” feel pushed around.
Common Good Chair Philip K. Howard’s new book, Not Accountable: Rethinking the Constitutionality of Public Employee Unions, will be published by Rodin Books on January 24. In the book, he argues that public employee unions have undermined democratic governance and should be unconstitutional. Constitutional government can’t work when elected leaders lose control over public operating machinery.