Why the economy is so broken

Video Description

03:55 History of the Shackled State 13:35 The Captured Economy 22:53 Can We Do Better? America used to be a nation that built—fast. We built the Empire State Building in under two years and 70 miles of San Francisco rail in a decade. Today, it can take decades just to approve a single subway extension. Now we drown in red tape, veto points, and procedural gridlock. We examine how America’s systems broke, who benefits from keeping them broken, and how a new generation is fighting to rebuild Abundance in housing, energy, and opportunity. The barriers were built by people, and that means people can take them down. SUPPORT MY WORK https://www.patreon.com/JustineUnderhill GET INVOLVED Abundance Network (I am a member, and I think this is a great way to volunteer as a professional): https://www.abundancenetwork.com/professional-network/ MAIN SOURCES Abundance/ Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/176444106-abundance Why Nothing Works: Who Killed Progress―and How to Bring It Back/ Marc J. Dunkelman https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/214175076-why-nothing-works The Captured Economy/ Brink Lindsey, Steve Teles https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32335754-the-captured-economy Modern Power Substack https://modernpower.substack.com/ Stuck: How the Privileged and the Propertied Broke the Engine of American Opportunity/ Yoni Appelbaum https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/215805908-stuck The Realignment https://the-realignment.simplecast.com/ Slow Boring Newsletter https://www.slowboring.com/ OTHER SOURCES Yeltsin: A Revolutionary Life/ Leon Aron https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6694277-yeltsin Against the Grain-An Autobiography/ Boris Yeltsin https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/728660.Against_the_Grain_An_Autobiography When Boris Yeltsin went grocery shopping in Clear Lake/ Houston Chronicle https://www.chron.com/neighborhood/bayarea/news/article/When-Boris-Yeltsin-went-grocery-shopping-in-Clear-5759129.php Civilian Conservation Corps/ History https://www.history.com/articles/civilian-conservation-corps Works Progress Administration/ Britannica Editors https://www.britannica.com/topic/Works-Progress-Administration These Women Taught Depression-Era Americans to Use Electricity/ History https://www.history.com/articles/new-deal-great-depression-rural-electrification Tennessee Valley Authority/ Tennessee Encyclopedia https://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entries/tennessee-valley-authority/ The U.S. Homebuilding Industry: A Half-Century of Building the American Dream/ Harvard University https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/dl-transcript/m00-1_alexander.pdf San Francisco Tried to Build a $1.7 Million Toilet. It’s Still Not Done. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/24/us/san-francisco-toilet.html Blocking generic competition: will naming and shaming work? https://www.pharmaceutical-technology.com/features/blocking-generic-competition-will-naming-shaming-work/ 'Gaming' of U.S. patent system is keeping drug prices sky high https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/gaming-us-patent-system-keeping-drug-prices-sky-high-report-says-rcna47507 Selling Out: a Textbook Example/ Tom Bartlett https://www.chronicle.com/article/selling-out-a-textbook-example/ How the makers of inhalers keep prices so high https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/06/01/inhaler-cost-drug-company-prices/ Why America Has So Few Doctors/ The Atlantic https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/02/why-does-the-us-make-it-so-hard-to-be-a-doctor/622065/ Vanderbilt Serving Rutherford County https://www.vanderbilthealth.com/information/serving-rutherford-county State halts Vanderbilt’s plans for new Rutherford County hospital/ Anita Wadhwani https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2023/jun/20/state-halts-vanderbilts-plans-for-new-rutherford/ Berkeley Says It’s Standing Up to Trump, But It’s Actually Busy Arguing About Zucchini/ Henry Grabar https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2017/06/climate-change-housing-berkeley/ Innovation Homes Prospectus https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1687229/000119312517029042/d260125d424b4.htm Why You Probably Work for a Giant Company, in 20 Charts/ Theo Francis https://www.wsj.com/graphics/big-companies-get-bigger/ ABOUT JUSTINE I'm a journalist with a background in economics and theater. I worked as a producer and on-air reporter at Yahoo Finance, and I later created a documentary series focused on science and tech. My focus now is on urban design and government, and I was recently elected to City Council in my hometown of Falls Church VA.