Negotiating Towards Abundance and Against a Vetocracy.
- 5 days ago
- 6 min read
After obeying all of the regulations including environmental and zoning, it would take the United States 29 years to build a rare earth mineral mine and yet China can accomplish such in a year. - Bill Maher, Real Time, Season 23, Episode 12
The construction of California's high-speed rail has been a lengthy process, with initial plans dating back to 1996. While construction began in 2013 with contracts being awarded and groundbreaking ceremonies held, the full 494-mile stretch from Anaheim to San Francisco is not yet complete, with no set timeline for the entire system's completion. - AI
Introduction
Most Americans love the concept of democracy. They see democracy as a way for all those affected to negotiate and communicate their interests. But, when does democracy lead to paralysis?
American cities seem to be stagnating. Progress is not ongoing. Nothing can be built easily. Why is this? During especially the 1970’s, liberals passed many, many rules and regulations allowing citizens to negotiate what happens in their neighborhoods. This initially sounds good, but now these rules have paralyzed movement ahead. So, how do cities negotiate towards Abundance instead of a Vetocracy. This concept is captured in the book Abundance, 2025. From bestselling authors and journalistic titans Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson, Abundance is a once-in-a-generation, paradigm-shifting call to renew a politics of plenty, face up to the failures of liberal governance, and abandon the chosen scarcities that have deformed American life.
Example: District of Columbia Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners.
When DC gained some home control in 1976, they created a system of Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners (ANC). Each ANC Commissioner represents approximately 2,000 folks. On the surface, this sounds very democratic. But today, most ANC’s are not representing their voters. They generally just say "No." They serve as an impediment to any development.
Example: An old gas station in West Dupont Circle, DC wanted to redevelop. First, the ANC demanded that the developer get permission from the Gas Station Commission. The Commissioner failed to realize that this Gas Commission had been basically defunct for a decade. The Mayors had not appointed any Commissioners so it does not operate. The developer created three different development plans. The ANC said "No, No, No." The developer gave up. How does a developer negotiate in this “No” environment?
DC’s Hypocritical Enforcement of Many, Many Rules: How Does One Negotiate?
The DC government has always claimed to be pro-small business but their actions have never verified this. One small business was harassed by the City Health Department because their ice scoop was placed in the ice rather than placed in a separate rack. Another business was harassed by the Health Department because their cleaning water did not have the right percentage of bleach. Meanwhile, there are many street food vendors who are serving food and drink in the Columbia Heights neighborhood. They do not have a food license or inspections. Most citizens feel that if there are laws they need to be enforced fairly.
Many small business owners have declared that DC is the most complex and incompetent environment versus operating in Maryland or Virginia. They feel it is impossible to negotiate fairly.
How Does One Negotiate in a Vetocracy?
Roles/Titles: First, an effective negotiator needs to identify the roles of each party involved. Sometimes, involved parties are called stakeholders, but this could be dangerous in giving them more power and more “say” than what legally they have.
What is a stakeholder?
According to Tech Target, a stakeholder is a person, group, or organization with a vested interest, or stake, in the decision-making and activities of a business, organization, or project. Stakeholders can be members of the organization they have a stake in, or they can have no official affiliation. Stakeholders can have a direct or indirect influence on the activities or projects of an organization. Their support is often required for business and project success.
Questions should be asked: Is the party really a stakeholder? Have they appointed themselves? Must they be involved? Are they representing non-profits and how is the non-profit organized? Is it democratic? Is it representative? Must they be involved? What is their relationship to the government that is involved? Maybe they are not really stakeholders, but interested individuals?
Second, each party may need to be reminded of their role. For example, the Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners (ANC) cited above are by DC law, advisory and the city government must give “great weight” to their “advice.” Again, this ANC idea may sound very democratic, but most of the time the ANC is not representing their constituents but merely presenting their own views.
Positions versus interests: A vital part of negotiation in this environment is to note positions and interest and to distinguish between them.
Positions are things that you will or will not do.
-I will….
-I can’t….
-I won’t….
Interests are the reasons behind these positions. Discovering interests may set the stage for creativity and agreement.
Identifying the real, underlying interests can be challenging. Some compare this challenge to unnesting the Russian dolls (usually 5 dolls called Matryoshka-each doll fits within another) or peeling the onion. Some think of the “Five Whys” theory in which one must ask five questions before getting to the core issue. In some development situations, some might say that they want more green space or more affordable housing, but maybe they are simply against the developer or the use of the space.
Negotiation advocacy transforms into zealotry. (This concept is discussed in Blog Entry dated 11/5/24.) In many cases, negotiation advocacy is admired. The negotiator has a goal in mind and is presenting the best arguments to support that view. As time progresses, some advocates transition into zealots expressing extreme views. They become more emotional and less persuasive. So, effective negotiators need to avoid this transformation.
How Does the US, Especially Large Cities, Climb out of this Paralysis Caused by this Vetocracy?
Many of the answers or ideas are contained in the new book: Abundance.
According to Wikipedia, Abundance is a nonfiction book by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson published by Avid Reader Press in March 2025. The book examines the reasons behind the lack of progress on ambitious projects in the United States, including those related to affordable housing, infrastructure, and climate change.
The authors argue that the regulatory environment in many liberal cities, while well intentioned, stymies development and that Democrats have been more concerned with blocking bad economic development than promoting good development since the 1970s, focused on the process rather than results, preferring to maintain current conditions instead of pursuing growth demonstrated by their backing of zoning regulations, strict environmental policies, and imposing expensive requirements on public infrastructure spending. Klein and Thompson argue for an Abundance Agenda that better manages the tradeoffs between regulations and social advancement.
Decrease the number of laws, rules and regulations. Do jurisdictions really need so many laws, rules, and regs? For example, does the state of Connecticut really need a law requiring theaters to post the real time that movies begin as proposed by (2024) Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney. Most would respond, NO!
Further, Connecticut passed over 170 bills during the 2024 session. There is no good count of how many laws there are in Connecticut.
California has over 400,000 regulatory restrictions.
The federal government may have 300,000 laws with more to come and they don’t go away. There is usually no Sunset Provision for these laws so they linger on the books. This is how and why the present Administration is using/misusing the 1798 Alien Enemy Act. As a sign of their political prowess, politicians often crow about the number of bills that they have introduced.
Conclusion
Benjamin Wallace-Wells of the New Yorker has it right: The idealistic progressive laws of the seventies-those mandating environmental review, safety and anti-corruption standards, historic preservation, prevailing wages, and most important, local power over zoning-had meant to protect small communities against moneyed interests. But they had been manipulated by homeowners and businesses and used to block all types of construction. Good intentions have led to what the political scientist Francis Fukuyama termed “vetocracy.
This setting makes it very difficult to negotiate, to get things done, to develop or to open/operate businesses.
Resources:
Stuck, Yoni Applebaum, Random House.
Abundance, a nonfiction book by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson published by Avid Reader Press in March 2025.