> Somehow the US has evolved to become a political system in which people can dream up a hundred reasons not to do things like “build housing in growing areas”

> Somehow the US has evolved to become a political system in which people can dream up a hundred reasons not to do things like “build housing in growing areas” or “admit people with skills into the country.” If the US wants to win a decades-long challenge against a peer competitor, it needs to be able to improve state capacity.