[rayiner]

I like Ezra Klein a lot. But what’s odd about his Abundance theory is that he can’t bring himself to admit that nowhere in the U.S. comes closer to what he’s describing than Ronald Reagan or Richard Nixon’s California.

The tragedy of muscular-government urbanism today is that it’s stuck in a political coalition with toxic empaths that will fill your nice public spaces with drug addicts, criminals, and illegal aliens. They won’t let you have nice public spaces until you first fix poverty, drug addiction, racism, and the economies of Latin American and Middle Eastern countries.

[energy123]

Ezra Klein will be the first to admit that housing policy in Austin, Texas is closer to his vision than anywhere in California. He has spent the last few years criticizing California for their terrible local governance and partly blames their terrible governance for the recent election loss at the federal level.

[tptacek]

Have you read the book? This is not a point he avoids, at all.

[rayiner]

I have not, just listened to him on some podcasts. I started to insert a parenthetical caveating that but it was unwieldy.

[tptacek]

Even podcast Klein is open about this. It's a point he uses to motivate (or alarm) Democrats. I don't think your critique here is on point.