Governments that cannot build are often blocked by process, not money
Hook
American cities do not lack money to build. Several new books argue they lack permission: too many people can say stop, and nobody has to finish.
Claim
The usual reason government cannot build is process: too many veto points, not too little money.
Story
Why Nothing Works (Marc Dunkelman, 2025) argues progressives moved from using central power to constraining it, and contrasts Robert Moses, who could act with little challenge, with a world where “almost any objection stops everything cold”. Abundance (Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson, published 18 March 2025) argues American liberals prioritise process over outcomes through zoning and strict conditions on infrastructure. In June 2025 Governor Newsom cited it when signing bills that rolled back parts of CEQA. Jennifer Pahlka’s Recoding America makes the same point from inside agencies, where policy is written without regard for implementation.
Sources
- Why Nothing Works, Wikipedia
- Abundance (Klein and Thompson), Wikipedia
- Recoding America, official site
Check before posting
- Recoding America’s Wikipedia page returned 404 and the official site was not opened. Details like healthcare.gov and California unemployment are unverified.
- These books describe the US. Croatia’s blockage may be different: less veto, more discretion. Petar is still to add his own 2 to 3 titles on why government cannot build.
- Needs a person-level story (Moses, or a Pahlka case once checked).
Counterargument
Critics say Abundance could resemble Reagan-style deregulation (Teachout) and avoids trade-offs (Levitz, Kazis).
Post angles
Facebook (Croatian)
- Nema novca ili nema volje? Nova knjiga “Abundance” kaže da američkim gradovima ne nedostaje novac, nego pravila koja zaustavljaju gradnju. A kod nas? Nedostaje li pravilo ili izvršenje?
- Tko u Hrvatskoj može zaustaviti projekt, a tko ga mora dovršiti?
LinkedIn (English)
- Three 2025 books, one idea: the state is stuck on process. Dunkelman: “almost any objection stops everything cold”. Klein and Thompson: process over outcomes. Pahlka: policy written without implementation. Croatia likely has a different diagnosis, and that is worth testing.
- The critique of Abundance is fair: it may under-count trade-offs. The counter belongs in the same post.