Even a stopped clock is right twice a day. Trump should get credit for OWS, even if it goes against his current wishes. But Joe doesn't note that many of the actions the Abundance folks seek are steps Trump is taking--slashing environmental impediments, reversing decades of bureaucratic barriers. The big problem is that Trump does this not with a master plan but with a "we'll show the libs" attitude. He's using the chainsaw where careful sculpting is called for. In essence, he is throwing out babies along with the dirty bathwater. What the Democrats need is their version of Ronald Reagan--a leader who can stand up to the Progressive wing of the party. Who is the next Bill Clinton within the Democrat party?
Great summary of the A "movement". My main issue with much of KT is "how"? Yes local housing policy is very much the culprit (single family preferences) to more affordable housing and homelessness.
Unfortunately, Housing policy is probably one of the most difficult thing to change. It is literally in everyone's back yard. So while it is easy to say housing should be easier to build (all types) it is almost impossible to figure out HOW to make that happen.
For I really don't see anyone who has their SFH in a great neighborhood with great schools allowing multi family housing to be built next door. That could decrease their home value (which is more than likely their single greatest investment they have).
We need ways to allow both - 1) input into policy decisions by communities so that everyone is heard (but no one group can stop a project) 2) decisions to be made quickly by those elected to make them when the time comes to do so. Unfortunately we have spent the past 50 years focusing on #1 without figuring out #2. As a result we allow the LPITR to make decisions (loudest person in the room).
So much is right in this article! I particularly agree with the release of mentally ill people who NEED custodial care. I know of several who would have faired much better institutionalized where they receive regular doses of needed antipsychotics, rather than left to their own devices with no oversight. Without regular care, these folks end up in jail, dead from suicide, self medicating with street drugs, and/or homeless. It's tragic. Nobody in the thrall of serious mental illness can be considered capable of their own agency.
It galls me that politicians and the public cannot look ahead enough to game out long term consequences of stupid policy decisions of every sort. It's all short term, utopian idiocy.
The concept of a moderate Progressive is a bit like washing down a large pizza wit a Diet Coke, there is only so much good, the moderation will accomplish. Klein's book seems especially ill timed considering we have just learned the last Democratic Presidency was hijacked by a Progressive cabal that seems to have backed Biden because of his physical and medical frailties, not in spite of them.
Has no one else noticed that the Democratic Party of the 90s no longer seems to exist? In 4 years, for all practical purposes, it disappeared. It never seemed logical that Biden, a man who devoted a half century to unwavering support of Unions ,would purposefully import 10-12 million low skilled migrants, nearly tailor made to undercut many of the strides Unions have accomplished for American workers.
Moreover, it did not make sense that a man devoted to improving the lives of poor minorities would import massive competition for their already scarce affordable housing, while depressing low skilled wages, by virtue of their sheer numbers. Ditto for dumping scads of students with limited English skills on already failing and broke minority schools. Now we know it wasn't Biden waving in the world, without a single extra housing unit, healthcare worker or bilingual teacher. It was his Progressive conquerors.
Nor did it track, that traditional Dems would totally ignore the consequences of their climate programs on the poor. Forget the inflation spurred by trillions in mostly unsustainable Green giveaways. More than a decade ago a CA economist coined the term "energy poverty". At the time, it referred to the 10% of Golden Staters who at the end of each month, were forced to choose between paying for energy and eating. The problem is now so pervasive, laws prevent most disconnection for non payment. The result is nearly 2 1/2 million Californians who collectively owe over $1.1 billion dollars in arrears on their electric bills. Without drastic change, the entire US was headed for the same fate. It turns out Progressive Climate Warriors, setting energy policy from the windows of their private jets, may not be such a good idea.
Those pearl clutching over Trump, should hope for a revival of the Dem Party of old. All over the world voters are reaching the same conclusion. Unchecked Progressive policies, are the road to ruin.
Sensible permit reform will entail state laws that preempt local regulations or federal laws that preempt state laws and do the following: consolidate all environmental challenges to any construction project and require that they be made, heard, adjudicated, and finally appealed within 18 months, with no further bites at the apple. If that timeline is not met, the challenge must be proscribed by statute, with no exceptions.
Out here in California rampant abuse of environmental laws in particular and regulatory restraints more generally have made it just about impossible to build anything new, including the wonderful high-speed rail corridor that will never link San Diego to San Francisco, as it was supposed to do in its final version. The Chinese have built 34X the high-speed rail capacity than we have failed to build in California during the same period (they have built 26,000 miles of high-speed rail networks since 2008, and since 2009 California has officially tried to build a network of 776 miles, but on current trends it will NEVER be completed, and the cost overruns caused by various matters have become astronomical). Besides, their trains run better than ours would have done, had they been built. We have become that pathetic.
Paul Krugman famously described California as a BANANA state: "Build absolutely nothing anywhere near anyone."
As for environmental objections, spare me: we should find ways to build things that nurture and protect life, but many environmentalists are anti-growth, penny-pinching, hermit-like Luddites, who want to stop building anything. Many private landholders cynically abuse environmental laws to paralyze projects that might impede their narrow interests.
Permit reform is therefore welcome and long overdue. It could even become a bipartisan issue.
A movement whose origin story is a failed Hayes Valley home reno? By all means, fix San Francisco, but….
In Al Gore’s time, when this same idea was called “Reinventing Government”, it helped redefine the Democratic brand (and Tony Blair’s “New Labour”). But today? It feels more like an intra-party safe space for Democratic centrists and refugees from progressivism, rather than something that could lead working people to reconsider the Democratic brand. The working class housing problem is the inability to afford a single family home and a decent car, not barriers to concentrated multi-family units near transit hubs.
On the positive side of the truth ledger Joe enumerates that everything the democrat progressives have championed has been a disaster and far worse than even the do-nothing alternative.
On the negative side of the truth ledger Joe is not keeping up with the knowledge curve. The COVID jab is not a vaccine; it is a MRNA protein accelerant. It is an abject failure and opposite of what we were told by the government health agencies it did not reduce the chances of catching COVID, or spreading COVID or diminishing the effects of COVID. What many suspected and we now know to be certain is that the COVID jab did not save any lives and in fact was lethal to millions of otherwise healthy people. Widespread have been reports of myocarditis in men, fast growing cancer in women and morticians have reported never seen before blood clots that were several feet in length in those who took the jab.
On top of that the government made it criminal to question the lack of efficacy and to document the numerous side effects of the jab and they forced tech and the media to suppress any embarrassing reports that contradicted the official narrative. Proven available medications like Hydroxychloroquine and Ivermectin were prohibited from being prescribed as either a prophylaxis or treatment and the reports of their efficacy has been stifled by the government and the media.
So why the elaborate three-card monte? Simple, follow the money; big pharma made $billions, government employees like the lying Dr. Fauci made $millions on patent royalties and health care facilities charged double and triple for “treating” COVID patients. The government would never allow other medical options (like Hydroxychloroquine and Ivermectin) because if they were allowed the emergency use approvals for the COVID vaccine could not be granted.
Operation Warp speed was a trophy success in terms of the speed of development and the ramp up of production and distribution. It was the posterchild example of the benefits of a businessperson like President Trump managing and executing on a large complex problem. Unfortunately, the final product is flawed.
Climate alarmism is one of the other scientific hoaxes perpetrated on and by the “easy mark” progressives to fleece the taxpayer of $trillions by laundering money through the anointed improperly named “renewable energy” companies.
It comes down to this; progressives screw up everything they touch and the extent of their scientific knowledge is limited to merely being able to spell the word. Meanwhile, the ruling elite use science to manipulate the progressive Borg to become a proxy for their schemes to assume power, control and wealth. On the other hand, populists who understand science and who can actually make things aren’t easily fooled by elite’s propaganda much less the progressive’s latest irrational folly. This is why we are attacked by the elites for being a threat to their control and by the progressive Borg for being a logical challenge to their illogical group think.
The Dems are entirely responsible for the anti-abundance quagmire in which we are stuck, including NIMBYism. The “environmental” left, which is responsible for enormous environmental damage (the anti-nuclear crusade; NIMBYism; the exploitation/abuse of NEPA and CEQA) is Malthusian and transparently anti-abundance. Their “de-growth” idiocy is the capstone of their destructive campaign. The Democratic Party is far too beholden to their fanaticism.
I can guarantee that Xi and Putin will NOT be embracing de-growth, ever, and I can also guarantee that whomever can afford the most powerful military will control the direction of the world, the fate of nations, and the level of human welfare — including that of citizens of what is now the United States, if we don’t find a way out of our torpor.
Maybe Trump doesn't want to take the credit because he knows something.
A possible scenario?
Sitting in the control chair a person or persons marveled at the fact that they had laboratories world wide. As they chattered, they also marveled at the fact that in one of their worldwide labs, a new gain of function virus had been developed for germ warfare. In other labs, this one in Europe a new type of vaccine had been sitting on the self waiting for at least 15 years to be used but couldn't because of regulatory hurdles. Plus, in many of their other large units lay the manufacturing base to produce hundreds of millions of vaccines at short notice. Knowing all this and with a gleam in his eye, one of the executives harmlessly joked, what if we had an incident and accidently released our new gain of function virus? We could make a killing. The others looked at him startled and shocked and said, Don't be ridiculous. They all laughed and chuckled, but a seed had been sown. It only takes one bad apple.
''this let the door open for an era of non-stop litigation against Congressional acts and Executive rulings. It caused a massive rebalancing, initially from the left, toward the judiciary. It moved basic questions like abortion away from the democracy of a constitutional vote to the judicial opinion of the Supreme Court"
Don't you mean congressional vote or legislative vote not constitutional vote?
Even a stopped clock is right twice a day. Trump should get credit for OWS, even if it goes against his current wishes. But Joe doesn't note that many of the actions the Abundance folks seek are steps Trump is taking--slashing environmental impediments, reversing decades of bureaucratic barriers. The big problem is that Trump does this not with a master plan but with a "we'll show the libs" attitude. He's using the chainsaw where careful sculpting is called for. In essence, he is throwing out babies along with the dirty bathwater. What the Democrats need is their version of Ronald Reagan--a leader who can stand up to the Progressive wing of the party. Who is the next Bill Clinton within the Democrat party?
Great summary of the A "movement". My main issue with much of KT is "how"? Yes local housing policy is very much the culprit (single family preferences) to more affordable housing and homelessness.
Unfortunately, Housing policy is probably one of the most difficult thing to change. It is literally in everyone's back yard. So while it is easy to say housing should be easier to build (all types) it is almost impossible to figure out HOW to make that happen.
For I really don't see anyone who has their SFH in a great neighborhood with great schools allowing multi family housing to be built next door. That could decrease their home value (which is more than likely their single greatest investment they have).
We need ways to allow both - 1) input into policy decisions by communities so that everyone is heard (but no one group can stop a project) 2) decisions to be made quickly by those elected to make them when the time comes to do so. Unfortunately we have spent the past 50 years focusing on #1 without figuring out #2. As a result we allow the LPITR to make decisions (loudest person in the room).
So much is right in this article! I particularly agree with the release of mentally ill people who NEED custodial care. I know of several who would have faired much better institutionalized where they receive regular doses of needed antipsychotics, rather than left to their own devices with no oversight. Without regular care, these folks end up in jail, dead from suicide, self medicating with street drugs, and/or homeless. It's tragic. Nobody in the thrall of serious mental illness can be considered capable of their own agency.
It galls me that politicians and the public cannot look ahead enough to game out long term consequences of stupid policy decisions of every sort. It's all short term, utopian idiocy.
I'll step down from my soapbox now...
Unclogging education should be priority number one!
The concept of a moderate Progressive is a bit like washing down a large pizza wit a Diet Coke, there is only so much good, the moderation will accomplish. Klein's book seems especially ill timed considering we have just learned the last Democratic Presidency was hijacked by a Progressive cabal that seems to have backed Biden because of his physical and medical frailties, not in spite of them.
Has no one else noticed that the Democratic Party of the 90s no longer seems to exist? In 4 years, for all practical purposes, it disappeared. It never seemed logical that Biden, a man who devoted a half century to unwavering support of Unions ,would purposefully import 10-12 million low skilled migrants, nearly tailor made to undercut many of the strides Unions have accomplished for American workers.
Moreover, it did not make sense that a man devoted to improving the lives of poor minorities would import massive competition for their already scarce affordable housing, while depressing low skilled wages, by virtue of their sheer numbers. Ditto for dumping scads of students with limited English skills on already failing and broke minority schools. Now we know it wasn't Biden waving in the world, without a single extra housing unit, healthcare worker or bilingual teacher. It was his Progressive conquerors.
Nor did it track, that traditional Dems would totally ignore the consequences of their climate programs on the poor. Forget the inflation spurred by trillions in mostly unsustainable Green giveaways. More than a decade ago a CA economist coined the term "energy poverty". At the time, it referred to the 10% of Golden Staters who at the end of each month, were forced to choose between paying for energy and eating. The problem is now so pervasive, laws prevent most disconnection for non payment. The result is nearly 2 1/2 million Californians who collectively owe over $1.1 billion dollars in arrears on their electric bills. Without drastic change, the entire US was headed for the same fate. It turns out Progressive Climate Warriors, setting energy policy from the windows of their private jets, may not be such a good idea.
Those pearl clutching over Trump, should hope for a revival of the Dem Party of old. All over the world voters are reaching the same conclusion. Unchecked Progressive policies, are the road to ruin.
Sensible permit reform will entail state laws that preempt local regulations or federal laws that preempt state laws and do the following: consolidate all environmental challenges to any construction project and require that they be made, heard, adjudicated, and finally appealed within 18 months, with no further bites at the apple. If that timeline is not met, the challenge must be proscribed by statute, with no exceptions.
Out here in California rampant abuse of environmental laws in particular and regulatory restraints more generally have made it just about impossible to build anything new, including the wonderful high-speed rail corridor that will never link San Diego to San Francisco, as it was supposed to do in its final version. The Chinese have built 34X the high-speed rail capacity than we have failed to build in California during the same period (they have built 26,000 miles of high-speed rail networks since 2008, and since 2009 California has officially tried to build a network of 776 miles, but on current trends it will NEVER be completed, and the cost overruns caused by various matters have become astronomical). Besides, their trains run better than ours would have done, had they been built. We have become that pathetic.
Paul Krugman famously described California as a BANANA state: "Build absolutely nothing anywhere near anyone."
As for environmental objections, spare me: we should find ways to build things that nurture and protect life, but many environmentalists are anti-growth, penny-pinching, hermit-like Luddites, who want to stop building anything. Many private landholders cynically abuse environmental laws to paralyze projects that might impede their narrow interests.
Permit reform is therefore welcome and long overdue. It could even become a bipartisan issue.
A movement whose origin story is a failed Hayes Valley home reno? By all means, fix San Francisco, but….
In Al Gore’s time, when this same idea was called “Reinventing Government”, it helped redefine the Democratic brand (and Tony Blair’s “New Labour”). But today? It feels more like an intra-party safe space for Democratic centrists and refugees from progressivism, rather than something that could lead working people to reconsider the Democratic brand. The working class housing problem is the inability to afford a single family home and a decent car, not barriers to concentrated multi-family units near transit hubs.
On the positive side of the truth ledger Joe enumerates that everything the democrat progressives have championed has been a disaster and far worse than even the do-nothing alternative.
On the negative side of the truth ledger Joe is not keeping up with the knowledge curve. The COVID jab is not a vaccine; it is a MRNA protein accelerant. It is an abject failure and opposite of what we were told by the government health agencies it did not reduce the chances of catching COVID, or spreading COVID or diminishing the effects of COVID. What many suspected and we now know to be certain is that the COVID jab did not save any lives and in fact was lethal to millions of otherwise healthy people. Widespread have been reports of myocarditis in men, fast growing cancer in women and morticians have reported never seen before blood clots that were several feet in length in those who took the jab.
On top of that the government made it criminal to question the lack of efficacy and to document the numerous side effects of the jab and they forced tech and the media to suppress any embarrassing reports that contradicted the official narrative. Proven available medications like Hydroxychloroquine and Ivermectin were prohibited from being prescribed as either a prophylaxis or treatment and the reports of their efficacy has been stifled by the government and the media.
So why the elaborate three-card monte? Simple, follow the money; big pharma made $billions, government employees like the lying Dr. Fauci made $millions on patent royalties and health care facilities charged double and triple for “treating” COVID patients. The government would never allow other medical options (like Hydroxychloroquine and Ivermectin) because if they were allowed the emergency use approvals for the COVID vaccine could not be granted.
Operation Warp speed was a trophy success in terms of the speed of development and the ramp up of production and distribution. It was the posterchild example of the benefits of a businessperson like President Trump managing and executing on a large complex problem. Unfortunately, the final product is flawed.
Climate alarmism is one of the other scientific hoaxes perpetrated on and by the “easy mark” progressives to fleece the taxpayer of $trillions by laundering money through the anointed improperly named “renewable energy” companies.
It comes down to this; progressives screw up everything they touch and the extent of their scientific knowledge is limited to merely being able to spell the word. Meanwhile, the ruling elite use science to manipulate the progressive Borg to become a proxy for their schemes to assume power, control and wealth. On the other hand, populists who understand science and who can actually make things aren’t easily fooled by elite’s propaganda much less the progressive’s latest irrational folly. This is why we are attacked by the elites for being a threat to their control and by the progressive Borg for being a logical challenge to their illogical group think.
The Dems are entirely responsible for the anti-abundance quagmire in which we are stuck, including NIMBYism. The “environmental” left, which is responsible for enormous environmental damage (the anti-nuclear crusade; NIMBYism; the exploitation/abuse of NEPA and CEQA) is Malthusian and transparently anti-abundance. Their “de-growth” idiocy is the capstone of their destructive campaign. The Democratic Party is far too beholden to their fanaticism.
I can guarantee that Xi and Putin will NOT be embracing de-growth, ever, and I can also guarantee that whomever can afford the most powerful military will control the direction of the world, the fate of nations, and the level of human welfare — including that of citizens of what is now the United States, if we don’t find a way out of our torpor.
Maybe Trump doesn't want to take the credit because he knows something.
A possible scenario?
Sitting in the control chair a person or persons marveled at the fact that they had laboratories world wide. As they chattered, they also marveled at the fact that in one of their worldwide labs, a new gain of function virus had been developed for germ warfare. In other labs, this one in Europe a new type of vaccine had been sitting on the self waiting for at least 15 years to be used but couldn't because of regulatory hurdles. Plus, in many of their other large units lay the manufacturing base to produce hundreds of millions of vaccines at short notice. Knowing all this and with a gleam in his eye, one of the executives harmlessly joked, what if we had an incident and accidently released our new gain of function virus? We could make a killing. The others looked at him startled and shocked and said, Don't be ridiculous. They all laughed and chuckled, but a seed had been sown. It only takes one bad apple.
''this let the door open for an era of non-stop litigation against Congressional acts and Executive rulings. It caused a massive rebalancing, initially from the left, toward the judiciary. It moved basic questions like abortion away from the democracy of a constitutional vote to the judicial opinion of the Supreme Court"
Don't you mean congressional vote or legislative vote not constitutional vote?