Kevin Drum: "Yeah, America can still build stuff"
Yeah, America can still build stuff Marc Dunkelman has a new book coming out next month called Why Nothing Works. His thesis is that America once did big things but now seems stuck—and much of it is the fault of progressives: America is today the victim of a vetocracy that allows nearly anyone to stifle progress. While conservatives deserve some blame, progressives have overlooked an unlikely culprit: their own fears of “The Establishment.” A half-century ago, progressivism’s designs on getting stuff done were eclipsed by a desire to box in government. This has become such a common critique that it's now practically conventional wisdom. But before we accept it, we need to know at least two things: Do we, in fact, not build things these days? Have all those progressive regulations been effective, or just pointless obstruction? I'm going to try to assess both of those things as honestly as possible. What fo...