Monthly News Conference
We joined PBS Utah this week for our Monthly News Conference. Here are some highlights:
Q: Do you think, personally, that we are in a declining democracy?
A: I do, I really do. It scares me, and it should be to anyone else. It is a wake up call to all of us and we all have a role to play. Political leaders are really good at using fear to divide us. I am hoping today to use a little bit of fear to unite us because Pew has a new study that says that 65% of Americans are exhausted with politics today. Only around 3% think that our democratic institutions, our government, and our politics are functioning very well. They have some of the lowest numbers of all time in the belief of the federal government, in the Supreme Court, in all of these institutions that are so important. In a very real way, what all of us do every day – posting on social media, attacking other people, attacking people instead of ideas – we are adding to that. I don’t expect that politicians are going to solve this for us but politicians are a reflection of all of us and we all need to do better, I include myself in that.
Q: You mentioned the Legislature’s cautious approach on housing but do you think in any way they should take a more aggressive action? What would you like to see the Legislature do in the future about housing?
A: We are looking at everything we have done in the past few years and we are reevaluating that as we head into the next legislative session. We want to see what has made a difference and what hasn’t and double down on the things that are working. We have this first-time homebuyer subsidy we have put out there, that is for new construction. It’s really important because we are trying to increase supply and we want to see how well that is working and if that is working well, I want to put more money into it if it can show that it is helping young families get into homes and increase supply.
Q: Today political parties are extremely polarized in the United States, especially in America’s youth. How do you take on issues that are not aligned with your political party?
A: I believe that political polarization is the main driver behind failing and declining democracies or republics like ours. What this means is that it is not just what we believe, but it’s how we engage in these beliefs. It's hard because all the incentives are lined up against us. If you want attention, you have to be extreme. That is how the algorithms work on social media and news media. What we see is that it helps to drive the division. The louder and more combative you are, the more likely you are to get time on cable news shows. That adds to the tearing apart of the fabric of our society.
There is another piece that I think is so important and I like to bring it up every chance I get. There is something experts at Dartmouth refer to as the “perception gap.” The perception gap isn’t the gap between what Republicans and Democrats believe; it is the gap between what Republicans think Democrats believe and what Democrats think most Republicans believe. The reason this is so dangerous is that if you think the other party is willing to violate democratic norms, we are much more willing to allow our side to violate democratic norms in order to put the other side in check. That leads to the death spiral that we are on, where we try to one up each other. We have found Republicans and Democrats are not that far apart but if we continue to think that we are far apart, that becomes really dangerous. I think there are things we can do in government to do better such as practicing the political virtues of humility, patience, and listening to each other.
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