Crisis of the Common Good: The Fight for Meaning and Connection in a Broken America

Crisis of the Common Good: The Fight for Meaning and Connection in a Broken America by Chris Murphy

Chris Murphy is a Democrat and is upset with what Trump has done to the presidency. However, rather than jump into partisan attacks, he looks at the root cause. Trump is able to tap into resentment felt by many in America. The town where people know each other and work together has been replaced by a homogenous culture. People don't have the community and the desire for the common good. People are much more siloed. Community organizations and churches are much less present.

He sees the problems as many "cults". Cult of Profit, Cult of Globalism, Cult of Technology, Cult of Consumption, Cult of Credentialism, Cult of Corruption. Given his political leaning he left out the "Cult of Other" - the look for somebody else (like the government) to solve the problems. He tries very hard to be politically neutral, and for the most part succeeds, though the partisanship does occasionally eek out.

In one section, he stated that he would like for the government not to provide any services dependent on income. He was focussing on "fast lanes", but it would be a great idea for all services. There is a huge application needed to apply for low-income housing or rent assistance. Other resources require regular validation that you are in fact poor. This is demeaning and encourages one to keep income low to maintain benefits. What if we just provided everything to everyone? The administration costs would go down. The negative aspects would go away. It would cost more, but everyone would benefit from it. It is similar to the public library. Wealthy people could just buy the books (and many do.) However, everyone has access to the library regardless of how much they earn. What if we did that with our many other programs? Instead of charging low-income bus riders $1 and everyone else $3, just charge everyone $1. Provide basic health care for everyone. Provide free school lunch for everyone. Eliminate anything that requires you to validate that you are poor to receive some benefit. The rich would need to pay a little more in taxes. The middle class would probably be a wash. Administration costs would go down. There would also be incentive for everyone to make the system better. There would also eliminate the "income penalty". There is more incentive for people to earn more above-board. Alas, things are moving in the opposite direction. Washington even started a "low income toll", where low-income people pay less. This is like butting a band-aid on a broken arm.