When my husband first came to Oʻahu, I introduced him to more than just Spam musubi, shave ice and the North Shore. I made sure he knew about all of the issues that keep me up at night.
Parents watching their kids leave because a starter home here is more expensive than a mansion elsewhere. The exorbitant cost of milk and eggs. Our potential to lead innovation on clean energy and sustainable agriculture.
He listened to all of it. For the most part, he likes my rants, though we have implemented a “no fiscal policy after midnight” rule, and I appreciate his opinions. But when I described our homelessness crisis as “chronically unsolvable,” he gave a simple response that was as infuriating as it was truthful: Homelessness is a policy issue. We can decide to solve it, or we can decide not to.
That response has stuck with me, which is probably why Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson’s new book, “Abundance,” keeps rattling around in my head. I don’t think it breaks new ground for those who’ve been in the policy trenches…