Americans crave abundance, not chaos
Editor: Now that the shortcomings of the Trump administration’s blackmail diplomacy, chainsaw budgeting and whiplash policymaking are becoming more evident, it remains to be seen whether Donald Trump and his loyalist advisors will replace their faith in chaos governance with more coherent approaches. Yet opponents of the current mode of governing must offer realistic alternatives. One alternative gaining notice: the “abundance movement.” As David Brooks explained in a recent New York Times op/ed: “Interest in the movement extends from the center-libertarian Niskanen Center think tank to “a wide array of left-leaning think tanks.”
Basically, the abundance movement, as defined in an extensive paper by Niskanen Center’s Brink Lindsey and Samuel Hammond, “Faster Growth, Fairer Growth,” holds that regulations, often well-intended but self-defeating, hinder the supply of more housing, more affordable medical care and the development of cleaner alternatives to carbon-reliant energy. Simply unleashing the private sector, assert the co-authors, is not enough: “The private sector functions at its best when it is enabled and supported by a strong, capable, effective public sector. It needs government to write and enforce the rules that align private profit-seeking with the public welfare.”
Take housing for example. Before a reform plan passed in 2018, Minneapolis, Minnesota’s zoning laws favored single-home lots. Mayor Jacob Frey explained the sky-high demand and inadequate supply meant housing costs rose. A reform plan allowed construction of duplex and triplex homes to provide more units. And the placement of more dense apartments near transit stops. A January 2024 Pew study of Minneapolis’ reforms discovered rental costs were abated by enacting the reforms, leading to more apartment construction.
Lindsey’s and Hammond’s detailed paper is online and worth reading for people seeking real policy solutions. Also worth reading is Derek Thompson’s and Ezra Klein’s new book, “Abundance.” Americans deserve better than chaos management.
Steve Lilienthal, Pottsville native, Washington, D.C.
