GM. Still reading Califailure this morning, now on the chapters about development in Venice Beach and San Jose.

I was supposed to officially move into my space tomorrow, but can’t. My application is delayed another week after sitting with the city for a month. I’ve called so often the admin staff recognizes my voice.

When I finally reached the planning lead, they offered to review it and call me back later. I asked if they would instead stay on the line and read my application with me. They approved it within minutes.

County fire has only responded after I escalated my application to the fire chief through a personal connection. The normal channels led nowhere.

Over the decades, California’s public agencies have come to optimize for caution and legal defensibility, not throughput. Delay is often safer, and more rewarded, than action. Our state is notorious for this.

Individual persistence can cut through the inertia. But how we can build incentives for momentum into the public system itself?

Building a little space by the ocean. More information at /thenextwave coming soon.

I will check out this book. CA’s economy would be the fifth largest in the world if it were a country. What goes wrong with a system is important to learn from. 

Have you read “Abundance” by Ezra Klein & Derek Thompson?

Call me /aj | folder of /origami | residing in /dcl

I hope so. Will read the book soon so we can discuss more :)

There are too many interest groups in the Democratic Party. The different groups can help win elections, but in process they tend to step on each other’s agendas.

Even if the party were to formally adopt the abundance mindset, I believe the agenda would get too diluted. Death by negotiation.

I am 4 chapters in. It has the potential to be transformational for the Dem party and the country as a whole. 

We need to build things again. It is an interesting reset point considering the mentality of most ppl on FC is builder biased.

I’ve been listening to Ezra Klein’s interviews about the book, but haven’t read it yet. Have you?