Feldman's Faves: May 5, 2025

GOOD MORNING EVERYONE

It is always a good year when all of our students get hired back, which happened this year. Huge congratulations to all of our hard working and well deserving students.

In the immortal words of Matthew McConaughey, “all right, all right, all right”.  Four down / twelve to go.  Our beloved LEAFS got a giant monkey off their back last week and now have the opportunity to keep moving forward. Tonight should be exciting as we are still filled with hope. GO LEAFS, GO!!

While we are on the topic of elite athletics, for all of my fellow POWER ZONE riders on Peloton I have recently discovered Christian Vande Velde (former rider on the Tour de France) whose classes are extremely challenging but great preparation for outdoor riding. While I will always be a Team Wilpers guy, I have to say Christian is quickly becoming one of my favourite instructors on this platform.

And last but not least,  a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY to MEL. We are all so happy you are back at Goodmans and we can celebrate with you here!!

Today’s theme is the book Abundance.

Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson – Prime Minister Carney has said that one of his key objectives is to “build baby, build”.  Like most people, I am somewhat skeptical of his (and all politicians) to execute on their promises.  But what if we lived in a world where execution of ideas was actually a thing??? These days it’s hard to avoid the book Abundance and its authors Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson.  Klein and Thompson are Democrats who recognize the failings of their party, the failings of their country and the failings of their society. At the same time, they are optimists who believe good ideas come from all sides of the political spectrum and believe that there is an historical opportunity to right the ship that is the USA – even now, when for many people, life seems pretty bleak. They believe that reframing key issues as emergencies that need to be treated in warp speed (citing as an example, how the first Trump administration treated getting the Covid vaccine as something that required a quick and smart solution) in order to put America in a place where people can benefit from its potential.  As one reviewer notes. “Klein, a New York Times columnist, and Thompson, an Atlantic staffer, lean to the left, but they aren’t interrogating the usual suspects. Aware that many conservatives have no interest in their opinions, the authors target their own side’s “pathologies.” Why do red states greenlight the kind of renewable energy projects that often languish in blue states? Why does liberal California have the nation’s most severe homelessness and housing affordability crises? One big reason: Liberal leadership has ensnared itself in a web of well-intentioned yet often onerous “goals, standards, and rules.” This “procedural kludge,” partially shaped by lawyers who pioneered a “democracy by lawsuit” strategy in the 1960s, threatens to stymie key breakthroughs. Consider the anti-pollution laws passed after World War II. In the decades since, homeowners’ groups in liberal locales have cited such statutes in lawsuits meant to stop new affordable housing. Today, these laws “block the clean energy projects” required to tackle climate change. Nuclear energy is “inarguably safer” than the fossil fuel variety, but because Washington doesn’t always “properly weigh risk,” it almost never builds new reactors. Meanwhile, technologies that may cure disease or slash the carbon footprint of cement production benefit from government support, but too often the grant process “rewards caution and punishes outsider thinking.” The authors call this style of governing “everything-bagel liberalism,” so named because of its many government mandates. Instead, they envision “a politics of abundance” that would remake travel, work, and health. This won’t happen without “changing the processes that make building and inventing so hard.” It’s time, then, to scrutinize everything from municipal zoning regulations to the paperwork requirements for scientists getting federal funding. The authors’ debut as a duo is very smart and eminently useful. Cogent, well-timed ideas for meeting today’s biggest challenges.” Having an open mind and being solution oriented is a good idea. The key question in my mind is can we get there or are we too broken at this point? I am hopeful that we can and I hope we can do this here in  Canada too.  The sooner the better…..Here’s a good review from the NYT – https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/18/books/review/abundance-ezra-klein-derek-thompson.html

The Next Big Idea  - Abundance: Derek Thompson on How to Actually Rebuild the American Dream – For those of you who don’t have the time or interest to read the book, this interview with Derek Thompson does a good job summarizing its main ideas.  Here’s an excerpt from the PODCAST itself, “Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson is probably the most talked-about book in the country right now. And the most hotly debated. It’s a book about how we got here — here being a country without enough housing, a country that has lost its ambitious optimism, a country that has forgotten how to build. The prescription Ezra and Derek offer to cure what ails us is conspicuously pro-growth: more housing, more clean energy, more scientific development and technological innovation. But to pull that off, they argue, will require Democrats to question their endemic zeal for regulation. This view has fired up some liberals while simultaneously drawing ire from others. Today, Rufus sits down with Derek Thompson to talk about the book, the reaction to it, and how to convince political leaders from both sides of the aisle to embrace a liberalism that builds.” https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-next-big-idea/id1482067226?i=1000702991826

Thank you for your ongoing engagement and participation.

And remember to stay safe, stay healthy and to docket daily.

Jon