#241 Musings Beyond the Bunker (Thursday January 6)
Good morning,
ACCOUNTABILITY FOR RESULTS
Our political system is ossified, and it will take a great deal of political will and the desire to reach compromise to get it moving again on any number of issues. It seems clear that our current political systems and our leaders are incapable of reaching resolution on issues that would seem to lend themselves to relatively straightforward compromises. Instead of our society’s seeming desire to discredit experts, intellectuals, and journalists, we instead should be embracing them. Increasingly I believe the only way out of many of the issues we face is through ceding the decision to experts and removing the decisions from the political morass.
Ben VandeBunt highlights an example of how an existential issue can be addressed in a non-confrontational, expert-driven manner. It comes from Holland. There, the people who run the dike system are in charge—not the politicians. The reason is because without the dikes, the country would be under water. As Ben says, “in Holland, they cannot risk that a game of chicken would be played by people like Senators Schumer and McConnell when the stakes are so high.”
Ben goes on to point out that “shelter” is a primary essential for life, as laid out in Dr. Maslow’s eponymous “hierarchy of needs.” That hierarchy must be protected by those not trying to play a chess game for power. It needs to be people who have a focused objective—fix the problem.
He recounts a meeting with a Los Angeles councilperson’s chief of staff who wants to address homelessness in L.A. That person concluded, “it is impossible.” Ben says “Clearly the Mayor is unable to make it happen. No councilperson is willing to take other districts’ homeless population, so moving folks around to available housing (or in tent cities on city land) is not doable. It is a total stalemate since each councilperson and the mayor has the power to create a détente.” The problem continues to get worse.
Ben continues, “The Dutch would not permit this, since it is too important. The idea: What if we decided that homelessness is too important to leave to politicians and set up an apolitical commission, like Holland does, to address this critical issue. We appoint nine unelected yet incredibly qualified people…to come up with a solution and their decision is final. Or, at least, their recommendation is subject to a simple yes or no vote.”
I think this is a great idea. Remember that we encountered this before, with the bipartisan base closures commission in the 1990s. It was clear at the time that there was massive unnecessary spending on too many bases, many of which were ill-fitted for the modern era. But politicians couldn’t agree on closures in their districts. The commission did their careful analysis and reported to Congress with a proposal. Because Congress was so focused on preserving bases in each legislator’s area, it was much easier to turn the decision over to a nonpartisan commission. Once it had a recommendation, the only decision for Congress was a simple up or down vote on the proposal, without the ability to amend or modify it. Perhaps cities can adopt the same methodology.
RECOMMENDED BOOKS
Regardless of your view of him as a politician, President Obama is quite a reader and an excellent reviewer of quality literature. His favorite book list is out. I’d like to support some of his suggestions and point out those I haven’t yet read (but intent to read):
Klara and The Sun, by Kazuo Ishiguro. Great book on the nature of conscience, artificial intelligence and the future. A beautifully imagined world where artificial intelligence is employed in a special way that yields interesting results. Ishiguro’s oeuvre is strikingly diverse, having also authored the fascinating and very different Remains of the Day and Never Let Me Go.
Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir. A wonderful follow-up to The Martian (which was made into a movie). Fun adventure through space in a speculative future, relying heavily on scientific analysis and ingenuity. Weir. Plus there are other cultures striving across the galaxy at the same time, which require the protagonist to consider the risks and benefits of working together.
Under a White Sky by Elizabeth Kolbert. I’ve heard a lot of positive buzz about this. I’m looking forward to reading it.
When We Cease to Understand the World, by Benjamin Labatut. This is a book about the complicated links between scientific and mathematical discovery, madness, and destruction. It’s on order—I want to read this… Here is what the Guardian says: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/sep/10/when-we-cease-to-understand-the-world-by-benjamin-labatut-review-the-dark-side-of-science
Harlem Shuffle, by Colson Whitehead. Continuing his tradition of outstanding, insightful books that take us to places and experiences that are both familiar and different. Whitehead, along with James McBride, has to be one of the preeminent writers whose novels take place in Black communities and give life to those communities, their inhabitants, their aspirations, and their challenges. This one is a paean to Harlem and is the story of a man who lives both a life of an educated, legitimate businessman and a man on the periphery of the criminal world.
The Lincoln Highway, by Amor Towles. Brilliantly conceived. Wonderful dialog. I embraced the quirky qualities of the characters and loved their travels, interactions, and self-discovery. As Harlem Shuffle has been described as a “love letter” to Harlem, this is a “love letter” to a bygone era of postwar America. The boys in this story share, together with the protagonist in Harlem Shuffle, trying to balance a life on the “right side” and the “wrong side” of the law and a fight against all odds to succeed.
Crossroads, by Jonathan Franzen. I haven’t read it but Andrea and Jake have and they loved it. It’s on my list.
Obama’s choices also include the latest by Lauren Groff (I’ve enjoyed her prior works) and Cloud Cuckoo Land, which I’m going to use as a doorstop (see, we don’t always agree…). The rest of his primary list is here (he had two lists this year):
Happy day,
Glenn
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