Regulations intended to protect consumers, communities and the environment have metastasized to create an administrative regime that prevents anything from getting built, from high-speed rail projects to housing

 

This situation is even more painful in European Union. 

"SAN FRANCISCO -- A raging political fad has taken over the Democratic Party, coalescing politicians, activists and rank-and-file partisans around an unlikely message: The government is broken.

 

The party's postelection angst has found an unexpected life raft in the idea of "abundance," catalyzed by the recent publication of a book by that name that argues that regulatory obstacles and an obsession with procedure have caused liberal governance to fail to deliver on its promises.

 

Democratic politicians are rushing to embrace the new mantra. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis have all name-checked it publicly. New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker discussed it at length in his recent 25-hour Senate speech. Former Vice President Kamala Harris and the U.S. Senate's Democratic caucus are among the many politicians who have recently sought the authors' counsel. Not one but two congressional caucuses have recently formed to push legislation advancing the ideas laid out in the book.

 

It isn't just party elders who have bought into the idea. Local Abundance clubs have formed in multiple cities and on college campuses. At a recent "Abundance Happy Hour" in San Francisco's Mission district, hundreds gathered on a weeknight to mingle with fellow devotees. Banners at the gathering read "BUILD AMERICA. DEFEAT FASCISM."

 

Connor Skelly, 35, the COO of a residential remodeling company, said he was drawn to the ideas of "Abundance" because he wants his four children to be able to afford to live in San Francisco. "I think Democrats are looking for something to be for right now," he said. "With Trump, there's so much to be against. People are looking for something positive to be excited about."

 

The book by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson has been a surprise hit, with a sold-out national tour, hundreds of thousands of copies sold and two months on the bestseller list since its release in March.

 

The policy tome argues that Democrats must grapple with -- and shoulder some blame for -- the fact that blue states like California are mired in high-price stagnation, while red states such as Texas and Florida offer a dynamism and quality of life that keep attracting new residents.

 

Regulations intended to protect consumers, communities and the environment, they say, have metastasized to create an administrative regime that prevents anything from getting built, from high-speed rail projects to housing.

 

California Gov. Gavin Newsom recently hosted Klein on his podcast for an in-depth 90-minute discussion, where he waxed somewhat defensive about the way the book depicts his state as Exhibit A for Democratic dysfunction; Newsom nonetheless proclaimed the book "essential reading for Democrats" and said he has been handing out copies to the leaders of the state legislature.

 

While Klein and Thompson's diagnosis has echoes in conservative critiques of government and Elon Musk's DOGE, the authors' prescription is very different. Instead of taking a wrecking ball to the bureaucracy, the authors propose cutting red tape and unleashing the state as a stimulant to growth and innovation.

 

"The system is broken. The government is too inefficient and ineffective to meet the challenges of the 21st century," Rep. Ritchie Torres (D., N.Y.) recently wrote on X. "But the answer is not DOGE. It is ABUNDANCE."

 

As Democrats grope for a way forward in the wake of their 2024 election loss, advocates hope the party can present a new vision for the future by embracing the book's call to streamline housing, transit, energy and scientific research.

 

"I want the 2028 primaries and the presidential race to be about who is for progressive abundance," Steve M. Boyle, one of the San Francisco happy hour's organizers and the executive director of the newly formed YIMBY Democrats for America, said in an interview. Proving that government can improve people's lives, he argued, is the only way to prevent voters from turning to authoritarian strongmen.

 

The Abundance movement cuts across the party's ideological fissures, attracting support from elements of the moderate establishment and the socialist left alike. "Look, I'm for Medicare for all and taxing billionaires more, but I also want effective government to make sure when we pass those things it actually works," said Rep. Ro Khanna (D., Calif.), a progressive ally of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.).

 

To be sure, "Abundance" has enemies on the left, who have attacked the book in many essays, podcasts and book reviews. Critics argue the authors are blind to -- or stooges of -- the corporate power that is the true culprit for the problems the book lays out.

 

But Abundance proponents say making government more effective and limiting corporate power aren't mutually exclusive.

 

The book's authors, Thompson and Klein, said in interviews they hoped to galvanize a political movement but never dreamed it would catch on the way it has.

 

Klein said it was telling that so many Democratic pols intuitively grasped the book's message. "I didn't write a book that's substantially about zoning reform and state capacity and think, 'We're headed to No. 1, baby,'" he joked. "When a book like this hits, it's because it's creating a way for people to have a conversation that they already wanted to have."” [1]

 

1. U.S. News: Democrats Tap Into 'Abundance' Theme --- Dispirited liberals embrace and feud over a new book's call to cut red tape. Ball, Molly.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 02 June 2025: A4.