Lavatories of Democracy

It is one of the happy incidents of the federal system that a single courageous State may, if its citizens choose, serve as a laboratory; and try novel social and economic experiments without risk to the rest of the country.--- Louis Brandeis (1856-1941)

Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis' dissent in New State Ice Co. v. Liebmann, 285 U.S. 262 (1932) gave rise to the popular description of States as "laboratories of democracy" in the American system of governance.

Politicians of all stripes generally view Federalism favorably, at least in the abstract, because of its potential for innovation through experimentation at the State level, just as free-market economies are structurally more prone to improvement than ones that are centrally planned. However, let us also reflect on the other benefit cited by Justice Brandeis, that bad ideas have a greater chance of being stopped before they spread to the rest of the country.

It's become clear that two States, California and New York, that are world-class leaders in technology and finance, respectively, are jeopardizing the sources of their wealth by being a "laboratory" for utopian visions . [bold added]

PG&E: blackouts could occur for 10 more years (WSJ)

Millions of California residents were left in the dark last week, and it wasn’t because of an earthquake or storm or terrorist attack. It was the result of government mismanagement of a state utility, which intentionally cut off power to avoid wildfires caused by outdated electric lines. Instead of upgrading its equipment, Pacific Gas & Electric has been spending billions to fight global warming at the behest of state lawmakers. Californians already pay electricity bills well above the national average and nearly double what customers pay in neighboring Oregon. In return they get rolling blackouts reminiscent of the Third World.

Los Angeles made news earlier this year because of a typhus outbreak. Rat infestations, linked to homeless camps, were discovered at City Hall. In June the city reported that its homeless population had grown by 16% over the past year. Since 2017 it has risen 17% in San Francisco and 43% in Alameda County, which includes Oakland.

California’s homelessness rate is the nation’s highest, and its growth in recent years has coincided with a conscious decision by the state to go easier on criminals—a disproportionate number of whom are homeless. Thanks to a ballot initiative that passed in 2014, the theft of goods valued at less than $950 is considered a misdemeanor rather that a felony and usually results in no punishment....

NYC homeless shelter in 2014 (Gotham Gazette)

New York is another state where progressives call the shots and where progressivism has been disastrous. Earlier this month, a homeless man in New York City was charged with beating four sleeping men to death with a metal rod. Less than a week later, another vagrant was arrested for body-slamming a 6-year-old boy who was waiting in front of his grandparents’ home for a pizza delivery. Both suspects have histories of crime and mental illness, but progressive policy makers are loath to institutionalize such people. The rights of the homeless and mentally unstable trump the rights of others to walk the streets safely.

Or consider upstate New York, an economic dead zone for decades. The region had much to gain from the fracking boom because it happens to sit on the Marcellus Shale formation, one of the largest sources of natural gas in the country. But Gov. Andrew Cuomo takes his orders from antifracking environmentalists, not upstate voters, so the region continues to suffer.

Experiments that turn out disastrously teach valuable lessons, and there's no reason to repeat them elsewhere.