Why American Cities Cost So Much and Deliver So Little

Subscribe here: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube In this episode of The David Frum Show , The Atlantic ’s David Frum opens with his thoughts on the sudden recall of 12 B-1 bombers from their base in the south of England to the mainland of the United States.

He asks what prompted the move and why the Trump administration refuses to learn vital military lessons from Ukraine.

Then, David is joined by Reihan Salam, the president of the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, to discuss why American cities cost so much and often deliver so little.

They explore how some urban governments waste public money, how cities could provide better services to residents, and why the rise of populism is doing little to solve Americans’ actual problems.

Finally, David ends the episode with a discussion of Every War Must End by Fred Charles Iklé.

The following is a transcript of the episode: Reihan Salam: Well, David, I actually don’t believe that it is Donald Trump who is the only political figure who will have been discredited by this moment.

When you’re looking at the Democratic coalition right now, I see a lot of anger and frustration with how people see their leadership class as well.

So I think that this is going to be this big generational turnover that could go very badly. [ Music ] David Frum: Hello, and welcome to The David Frum Show.

I’m David Frum, a staff writer at The Atlantic.

My guest this week will be Reihan Salam, president of the Manhattan Institute, and we’ll discuss how American cities can deliver better government to their residents at more reasonable costs than they now do.

This week’s book will be a masterpiece of strategic thinking: Every War Must End by Fred Charles Iklé.

But before either the dialogue or the book discussion, some opening thoughts on a news story you may have seen this past weekend: the sudden recall of 12 B-1 bombers from their base in the south of England to the mainland of the United States.

As so often with Trump-administration military stories, there may be less, or there may be more, to this story than meets the eye.

The Trump administration is staffed by people who look for any opportunity and any excuse to recall military assets from allies, and especially from European allies, back to the American mainland.