America is choosing obstruction over abundance. While AI, clean energy, and advanced manufacturing require massive infrastructure investments, we're trapped in a permitting system designed for a different era — and a political system that rewards blocking over building.
In this episode of Open Circuit, we're joined by Brian Deese, former director of the National Economic Council and current MIT innovation fellow, to unpack why America's building capacity has become our biggest competitive bottleneck.
Drawing from his Foreign Affairs piece, "Why America Struggles to Build," Deese explains why breaking down physical infrastructure constraints could drive the next wave of economic growth.
Deese argues that 80% of project delays stem from state and local regulations, not federal policy. Using a "zero-based budgeting" approach to permitting, states could dramatically accelerate deployment of projects. Meanwhile, AI could slash the time and cost of environmental reviews from months to weeks, if regulators allow it.
We also explore the outcome of the recent GOP’s tax and spending bill, and examine why the Inflation Reduction Act's messaging failed to create political durability. Deese argues that winning on infrastructure requires both economic arguments — jobs, wealth, and lower costs — and visceral arguments about strength, reliability, and energy security.
As Deese explains, we're at a "unique economic moment" where AI, clean energy, and geopolitical fragmentation are converging to create unprecedented infrastructure demands. Can America overcome the politics of obstruction to build it?
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Credits: Co-hosted by Stephen Lacey, Jigar Shah, and Katherine Hamilton. Produced and edited by Stephen Lacey. Original music and engineering by Sean Marquand.
