Shawn Griffiths
In the latest episode of the Andrew Yang Podcast, Yang talks with author Marc Dunkelman about his new book, Why Nothing Works, and how distrust in government has erected barriers to get anything done.
Speaking from the perspective of a progressive, Dunkelman asserts that the very people who say they want government to do X, Y, and Z, have for decades made it all but impossible to get things done today.
"In the 50s, the solution to big public problems seemed to be to empower the [establishment] types to do more at their own behest," he said, speaking of people who had been trusted to be wise and smart and could carry government forward.
It stemmed from the notion that experts should be the ones in control. "And then we wake up in the 60s and 70s and realize, 'Oh man, these guys aren't so wise, they aren't necessarily so publicly minded."
He added that the sentiment among progressives shifted to distrust of the establishment because they were making bad decisions and decisions that benefited themselves (on war, urban renewal, environmental neglect, etc.).
"Our impulse as progressives switches from the 'Hamiltonian' to the 'Jeffersonian' impulse and we begin thinking to ourselves that we are going to put in new mechanisms so that ordinary people can say, 'Stop!'"
The irony, according to Yang, is that this impulse led to progressives getting in their own way on issues like housing and affordability in big, blue cities. They recognize the problem but refuse to look at zoning laws that make the issue worse.
The issue is that no regulation invites corruption and abuse, but over-regulation prevents anything meaningful from getting done.
Dunkelman said the challenge is not to go back to the "old ways." However, he added that "we have so over-corrected" that we have created "the bureaucratic infrastructure that anyone who wants to say no even to a good project can get in the way."
Today, progressives face an uncertain future. Their message right now is to resist President Donald Trump, who ultimately was elected because he spoke to a mistrust in institutions that was further fueled by dysfunction and stagnation.
Dunkelman believes if progressives want to move forward then they need to be less focused "on screaming over and over again at people who supported Trump" and look at their own internal conflict against the impulse to make government work.
"The underlying problem is the thing that we are selling is the thing we are telling people doesn't work," he said, adding that instead of being reactionary to Trump, progressives need to work on their sales pitch and their agenda.
Check out the full conversation between Yang and Dunkelman above.