So much has happened since our last newsletter. At the top of everyone’s mind is the recent election, which highlighted many ways in which frustration with self-imposed scarcity is affecting our political discourse.
A few weeks before the election, we hosted the inaugural Abundance Conference in Washington, D.C. to work on defining the Abundance Agenda and to showcase the intellectual vitality, ideological diversity, and growing scale of the movement.
Here’s the latest on what we are thinking, doing, reading, and hearing:
What we are thinking
Interpreting election results is like looking at Rorschach tests; everyone brings their priors to an exercise that has no single answer. Obviously, we see Abundance-related themes in the data, as voters are clearly dissatisfied with the high cost of living and low government effectiveness in large urban areas:
- The most expensive counties saw the biggest shift towards President Trump:
- Noah Smith makes a similar point that while “large metros still voted for the Democrats overall, they swung harder towards Trump than any other geographic region”:
- People in our biggest, most expensive cities aren’t only changing how they vote – they are voting with their feet. Since the pandemic, families with young children have been fleeing New York (-18%), Chicago (-15%), and Los Angeles (-14%).
- As Jerusalem Demsas argues in this excellent pre-election essay, “in the world’s wealthiest country, scarcity is now a choice.” She goes on to note that governance issues in blue states and cities have led to a migratory pattern which, if it persists, will significantly change the Electoral College map in 2032:
- The focus of President Trump, Elon Musk, and Vivek Ramaswamy on a new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) creates the potential for positive change, such as upgrading IT infrastructure and streamlining tax filing. Jen Pahlka shares thoughts here and Santi Ruiz has five suggestions on how to channel those efforts productively.
What we are doing
To everyone who attended the Abundance Conference, thank you!
The energy was palpable: over 275 attendees from government, academia, think tanks, journalism, philanthropy, and business joined for 15 panels led by 60 expert speakers.
Why did we host a conference right before a major election? As Derek Kaufman mentioned in his opening remarks, “None of us can know how things will turn out in November, but the beauty of the Abundance movement is that no matter the outcome, this community and these ideas will be key to shaping the trajectory of policy making going forward.”
The feedback was overwhelmingly positive - many attendees reported that they left energized by how the conference brought this dynamic community together for the first time.
And most importantly, thank you to our cohosts and sponsors for making this dream a reality.
Our Favorite Moments from Abundance 2024
- Derek Kaufman sat down with Arati Prabhakar, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), to discuss the intersection of innovation and Abundance, including how to use artificial intelligence for the public good. You can watch their fireside chat here.
- A few protesters briefly disrupted a fascinating conversation between Matt Yglesias and Derek Thompson, giving us a vivid demonstration of the scarcity mindset and the dangers of shutting down civil discourse. You can watch Matt and Derek discussing how they think about building the Abundance movement here.
Share your Reflections: We want to feature your thoughts and perspectives! Following Abundance 2024, what are your hopes for the Abundance movement and how can we help shape the policy landscape? We encourage you to keep the Abundance policy conversations going on your social and digital channels, blogs, or other platforms to help spread these policy ideas to those eager to learn more.
What we are reading
- Up For Growth’s annual estimate of the housing shortage shows a small decline from 3.89 million to 3.85 million units, but don’t celebrate just yet: this is driven significantly by people leaving the most expensive cities.
- Pew and Gensler’s study on the feasibility of converting vacant office buildings into dense co-living spaces in Minneapolis, Denver, and Seattle (more cities to come!). With a small subsidy and/or some regulatory changes, these developments offer a highly affordable option to diverse populations demanding them. For a less technical version, see the Vox write up.
- Matt Yglesias advises the Democrats to embrace a pro-growth, “common sense economic agenda” which contains many elements of the Abundance approach.
What we are hearing
- Ezra Klein and Michael Lind discuss the poisonous capture of the Democratic party by memberless interest groups claiming to speak on behalf of various communities.
- Robert Shea, CEO of GovNavigators and speaker on the Building a World-Class Federal Workforce panel at Abundance 2024, discussed a few takeaways from the conference in his podcast, The GovNavigators Show — take a listen here (the relevant portion starts at around 4:40).
This newsletter is a product of the Inclusive Abundance Initiative, a 501(c)3, in partnership with Inclusive Abundance Action, our affiliated 501(c)4.