WHEN MY DOORBELL RANG the other day, I expected it would be a routine delivery from the essential workers at the U.S. Postal Service. But when I opened the door, I met someone who introduced herself as Caroline, who was accompanied by her young son, a clipboard, and a stack of pamphlets. Caroline told me she was running for public office to represent our county in the state government. She explained that she’s the only candidate in the race with young children and described why her experience as a working mother gave her a unique perspective. By this point, my own two little ones had crept up behind me, near the front door, curious about the chit-chat. Caroline’s closing argument surprised me: with all the federal spending coming our way—the first wave of COVID-19 relief, and impending waves of infrastructure investment—our community needs someone like her, like us, in the conversation about how to spend it.
I thought about my visit from Caroline and her son when I read Dan Breznitz’s essay. They both have big ideas for how to spend a lot of money, and they believe their respective visions will make for a better world. I expect that Breznitz’s ideas will be embraced in mainstream U.S. political culture, for at least three reasons. First, he recognizes the immense variety in regional economies and understands the futility of a one-size-fits-all approach. Second, he is in step with prevailing criticism of Silicon Valley, whose model of economic development sees inequality as a feature rather than a bug. Finally, in the tradition of Clayton Christensen and Richard Florida, Breznitz is a true believer in the potential of innovation to fulfill all kinds of economic and societal needs—including local and regional economic development.