Solutions: Loneliness, Rent, and Roads: The Real Policy Agenda

Economic policies have human consequences. It’s time to stop talking about the problem and start working on solutions: turn Vision Into Action. Change is coming, and it will be from the ground up, not from the top down.

I find these inequality problems particularly acute in my home state, Arizona. This posting is intended as a roadmap for action, especially in rural AZ CD2, 6 and 9.

Context

Let’s put a bigger frame around why the lug nuts are coming off that I’ve been discussing.

The underlying problem is historical wealth inequality, which leads to social system fragility and eventual collapse.

Welcome to the ‘great reset’ where the butterfly emerges from the cocoon built by the caterpillar. See, for example, John Mauldin on the ‘Great Reset’, Neil Howe on The Fourth Turning, and George Friedman on The Calm Before the Storm, among others.

This social/economic reality will be the tripwire that sets off a breakdown and, eventually, a breakthrough. You can already hear the ice cracking. Witness the Indivisible Social Movement and the No Kings Days protests this year.

The Story

But first, a note about how all this came together. I use a technique the techies call “human-in-the-loop,” or HITL. I’ve refined this process using my academic research background and now call it The Wisdom Loop^sm. The first part consists of three things:

• Know who to talk to
• Know what questions to ask and
• Know how to ask the questions

In this post, I am giving you the answers to those three questions regarding the development of new policy solutions to wealth inequality and its human consequences.

The storyline is that the U.S. has shifted wealth upward and to older generations, making adulthood harder for younger people. This has resulted in Loneliness, anxiety, male isolation, and youth despair that are structural problems—not merely private failings. We underinvest in systems that could help people form stable families and communities. And lastly, our current technology rage (i.e., Generative Artificial Intelligence) really is just a symptom that consolidates even greater wealth for even fewer people.

With some literary license, I am distilling the thinking of Professor Scott Galloway at the Stern School of Business, New York University, about this process. So there is the answer to the first question – who to talk to. He has much to teach you, and I hope I am doing justice to his thinking.

Scott Galloway-Inspired

Galloway posits four pillars of society that underlie this problem of wealth inequality. I have inverted the order of his pillars to reflect an even more basic social psychology. People’s beliefs are deeply rooted and shape their attitudes towards the world around them, which then lead to specific behaviors. We see the behaviors as ‘the problem’ that needs to be solved. But I suggest we dig deeper. What are those pillars, and what SPECIFIC solutions could we implement to get to the base issues?

Now you have the questions that need to be asked.

How Will You Know You Are Making Progress?

Most conversations we have with policymakers and civic leaders who are responsible for making things happen are couched in ‘happy talk’ and platitudes. Have you read a White House press release lately?

There is an old management saw that says, ‘you can’t manage it if you can’t measure it.’ Giving our local leaders clear Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) can empower them to make meaningful progress and feel capable of change. So, what would be some key indicators to watch for when implementing these solutions?

Pillar KPI’s

Mental Health – Loneliness, anxiety, male isolation, and youth despair are structural problems—not merely private failings.

• Crisis call diversion rates
• Youth depression indicators
• Senior isolation measures
• Program participation

Social Policy – America underinvests in the systems that help people form stable families and communities.

• Park/library usage
• Volunteer participation
• Childcare availability
• Youth program enrollment

Economics – The U.S. has shifted wealth upward and toward older people, making adulthood harder for younger people.

• Median rent-to-income ratio
• Permit approval days
• First-time homebuyer rates
• Young adult in-migration

Technology – Technology is productive, but current incentives maximize addiction, outrage, and monopoly power.

• Average public service response time
• Resident satisfaction scores
• Broadband access by zip code
• Digital participation rates by age cohort

Now you have a language of how to ask the questions. Pro Tip: These questions are going to make a lot of people uncomfortable, so be it. As Yoda would say, ‘there is “Do or do not. There is no try.”

Bringing It Together

What action can you take? Start asking targeted, practical questions of your community leaders about local policy solutions to reduce inequality. Because voters increasingly judge government not by ideology but by whether life works. Can they afford rent? Is childcare available? Are parks safe? Can permits be approved before retirement age? Do young people see a future here?

Local leaders who solve these practical problems will earn trust that national institutions have squandered. The next great reform era will not come from Washington. It will come from counties, cities, and towns that decide competence is once again fashionable.

Let’s get to work on the Solutions and stop tip toeing around the inconvenient truth.