Like Orwell and Huxley, author Franz Kafka predicted in fiction the rise of the rigid, absurdist, all-powerful bureaucratic state in 1925's The Trial. Interesting Literature explores novel's critique of the Borg-like state.
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Bureaucracy is an outdated, centralised control system for organisations that do not work with an ethos of co-creation and that do not believe in shared value. So says Petra Andersen in Apolitical. It's past-time to break free of this arcane model.
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James Plunkett notes that the problem with gov't runs deep; it’s not enough to try harder, or to run things better, because at least part of the problem relates to the logic by which bureaucracy functions. He provides useful systemic steps to break the bonds of bureaucracy.
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Santa Clara County is poised to set fees far higher than in LA and SF, says Cupertinoo Vice Mayor Liangfang Chao. Having opposed Measure A as “good money after bad,” she’s once again calling for a “more prudent approach” to revenue seeking. An Opportunity Now exclusive comment.
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To fix housing, transit, the economy, and the environment, unelected regional bodies are pushing through Plan Bay Area 2050+. But in a recent Substack post, SHIFT-Bay Area argues the scheme is based on fantastical population assumptions and rife with environmental insults; moreover, the planners can’t explain where the money will come from.
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Just like in SJ and SCC, LA County BOS recently approved a half-cent sales tax for the June ballot to backfill federal, and state, healthcare funding cuts. But here’s the difference: 5th District Supervisor Kathryn Barger stood tall and argued forcefully against measure. She was the only Supe to vote No, because taxing Angelenos, she says, is the “tail wagging the dog.” Excerpted below are her comments at the 2/10/26 LA BOS meeting.
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Wait, don't we elect representatives to, you know, represent us? Sac Bee explores why cities and counties feel the need to hire expensive lobbyists to get their way in statehouses--and how it runs counter to democratic assumptions.
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Daniel Borenstein, in a Mercury News opinion column, says that the State's recent short-term bail-out of regional mass transit agencies may, in fact, jeopardize the realization of South Bay transportation goals.
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Public transport ridership has tanked in the Bay Area, but spending has more than doubled, inflation-adjusted, since 1980. So says former transit executive Tom Rubin in an Opportunity Now exclusive op-ed. The RM4 dragon-slayer calls on voters to insist on improvements first, before considering new taxes.
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By helping his neighbors improve their quality of life, local grassroots organizer Tony Guan learned that change comes at a cost. In this Opportunity Now exclusive Q&A, he highlights hard-fought campaigns: after successfully reducing airline noise, he continued to organize. His campaign to protect racial equality took him to the steps of the US Supreme Court.
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Edward Ring says California may remain robust for now, but warns an ideological extremist could win the race for governor. Meanwhile, A is for Average author Gus Mattammal says voters are “blown away” when he tells them how badly CA’s school districts are performing. He also wants Bay Area media to break from one-sided coverage of the regional transit tax. An Opportunity Now exclusive look forward to 2026.
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Silicon Valley is already taxed to the brink, says Pat Waite: absent accountability, the push won’t stop. He asks why CA has the highest rate of poverty in the nation (Supplemental Poverty Level metric), and yet politicians seek to raise taxes while failing to make housing cheaper. Will this be the year voters demand substantive answers? An Opportunity Now exclusive look forward to 2026.
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