I happened to catch a video of Pete Buttigieg, outgoing transportation secretary and wunderkind, speaking to students at Harvard's Kennedy Center last month. In response to a question about policy solutions to repair problems with Democrats out of power in Washington, Buttigieg gave this response:
In moments like this, our salvation really will come from the local and state levels. Sometimes Democrats have lamented our federalism -- we would like a little more consistency at the federal level -- but a lot of the answers are going to come from mayors, from communities, from states that aren't captive to some wacky ideological project; they're just focused on getting things done.
"Laboratories of democracy" are going to be wildly important, not just in terms of resistance -- although I do think AGs and states and mayors sometimes standing up to Washington will be very important in the next few years -- but in terms of just getting things done.
It struck me that he was really on to something. Look, it's inevitable that over the next four years, many are going to get angina over the circus in D.C. and GOP policies that end up hurting people. But Democrats aren't powerless -- not on the local level. There are many powers that the Constitution reserves for the states.
State and local governments make key investment decisions about things like infrastructure, education, transportation, and housing. They set labor market rules, tax policy, environmental regulations, and zoning rules. They regulate commerce and industry, marriage and divorce; they protect public health and safety, and implement social welfare programs.
Within those broad categories, they can enact policies such as free breakfast and lunch in public schools, subsidized child care, free buses, same-sex marriage, transgender rights.
And Democratic governors and mayors across the country have been exercising those powers to make life better for their residents. A few examples of what they have accomplished with the help of Democratic legislators:
Gretchen Whitmer, governor of Michigan since Jan. 1, 2019
-- Repealed a 1931 ban on abortion and helped enshrine abortion rights in the state Constitution.
-- Implemented a program to allow any Michigander 21 or older without a college degree, as well as anyone who was an essential worker during the COVID-19 pandemic, to enroll tuition-free in an associate degree or professional skills certificate program.
-- On guns, she signed a universal background checks law, a safe storage law, a law exempting of firearm safety devices from state sales tax and use tax, a law containing new license requirements for gun owners, and a red flag law.
-- On health care, Whitmer expanded health care coverage to more than 1 million Michiganders under the state's Medicaid expansion program. She established a program to reduce infant mortality rates and address racial disparities in maternal and infant care. She ended surprise medical billing in Michigan and reduced prescription drug prices.
-- She dramatically improved Michigan's roads, bridges, and water infrastructure.
-- She expanded Michigan's civil rights law to include LGBT individuals.
-- On taxes, she exempted all feminine hygiene products from state sales tax, cut taxes for small businesses, repealed the retirement tax, quintupled the Michigan Earned Income Tax Credit, and allocated up to $500 million per year of corporate taxes towards the state's fund for business incentives. Michigan has one of the lowest tax burden rates in the country.
-- As for the state economy, Whitmer increased Michigan's rainy-day fund to an all-time high of $1.6 billion, paid down nearly $14 billion in state debt, and took the budget from a projected $3 billion deficit to a $9 billion surplus. In 2022, Fitch upgraded Michigan's credit rating from AA to AA+, citing the state's strong fiscal position and economic growth.
-- On voting rights, Whitmer expanded access to mail-in voting and automatic citizen voter registration, and made it a criminal offense to intimidate or threaten a poll worker. (Guess who inspired that one.)
JB Pritzer, governor of Illinois since Jan. 14, 2019
-- Signed an abortion rights bill.
-- Increased spending on public schools, community colleges, and public universities by hundreds of millions of dollars, and in the process dramatically decreased the number of Illinoisans leaving the state to go to college.
-- Cracked down on human trafficking, collected data on traffic stops to end racial disparities, and ended cash bail.
-- Required state certification for gun dealers and banned assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.
-- Expanded welcome centers for immigrants and refugees that help them with gaining citizenship and getting access to health care, education, jobs, and legal services. He banned private immigration detention centers.
-- Signed the first infrastructure spending bill in Illinois in 10 years, including money for mass transit.
-- He was one of the first governors to raise the state minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025 and included a tax credit for small businesses.
-- Required schools to be "affirming and inclusive" of transgender and non-binary students.
-- Expanded voting by making Election Day a state holiday.
-- Created a food program for the elderly, the disabled, and the homeless.
Michelle Wu, mayor of Boston since Nov. 16, 2021
-- Divested city investments from companies that derive more than 15 percent of their revenue from fossil fuels, tobacco products, or prison facilities.
-- Increased spending to improve city school buildings and construct new ones from $1 billion to $2 billion, and halted the use of fossil fuels in new municipal buildings and major renovations.
-- Created a plan to mitigate the impacts of rising heat extremes, especially on poorer neighborhoods, and coordinated efforts across the city related to handling heat extremes.
-- Eliminated off-street parking minimums for new affordable housing developments and halved the time the approval process takes.
-- Made three critical bus routes fare-free for two years.
-- Appointed a Cabinet that is majority people of color.
-- Gave the largest non-construction contract that the city had awarded to a certified Black-owned business in its history.
-- Created a formula for how much developers who build in the city's downtown must contribute to fund child care services.
Not bad stuff. Meanwhile, Pritzker and Democratic Gov. Jared Polis of Colorado, in the wake of Trump's election, launched a nonpartisan coalition of governors called Governors Safeguarding Democracy that is designed to protect democratic institutions at the state level.
UPI reported that the group will design and implement strategies to protect the rule of law, executive agencies, elections, state courts, and other democratic bodies, and develop "playbooks" that governors can use "to anticipate and swiftly respond to emerging threats."
The New York Times says it's really a mechanism for Democratic states to coordinate efforts to oppose Trump's right-wing policies.
And in California, Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to "Trump-proof" the state in part by asking the Legislature for $25 million for a new "Litigation Fund" in case the state's justice department has to file lawsuits against the Trump administration to defend state policies.
Those policies include issues such as climate change, reproductive rights, and immigration.
All this is simply to say that there are places where Democrats and other like-minded people can look for inspiration. 'Tis a season of hope, whether you are celebrating Christmas or Hanukkah.
Finally, back to Thomas Paine. He published "The American Crisis" pamphlets in Philadelphia, where he lived, periodically over the course of seven years -- the blogger of his day. But it's the very first issue that had the most dramatic impact. In fact, General George Washington ordered it read to his troops to inspire them and bolster their spirits. You may recognize the opening lines:
THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated.
The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. The next four years are going to be difficult for those who treasure democracy and care more about those who need help than those who refuse to give it.
It would be strange indeed if we, as Americans, stopped treasuring freedom and fairness.
It's perplexing how many Americans are embracing fascism, foregoing any semblance of independent thought.
It's baffling to watch frightened congressional Republicans pretend that Trump is their boss, ignoring the constitutionally mandated three co-equal branches of government and the separation of powers, abandoning their judgment and responsibility to the American people, and sliding one of the great governmental institutions in history under the thumb of the executive.
In Paine's time, the colonies were in physical battle with a far superior and well-funded military. The odds were daunting. But freedom was at the other end of their muskets, and so they fought.
It's hard to say whether our stakes are as high, even though autocracy seems to be the favored method of rule these days. But like former mayor Pete said, look local. Support local. That's where hope lies.
NOTE: I'll be off the next two weeks, back at work the week of Jan. 6. I wish you all the most wonderful holidays possible.
