Abundance: How We Build a Better Future by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson

Important points:
-No need to read the book as long as you are interested in the themes of the book, or just want to meet people.
-If you cannot access the audiobook, you can access the following resources to get a pretty solid idea of the author's main points in the book:
YouTube Video (around 18 minutes)
“Abundance:” Ezra Klein & Derek Thompson’s Bold Vision for Democrats | Amanpour and Company
The Guardian's Review of the Book:
Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson review – make America build again | Politics books | The Guardian
A very detailed opinion piece by The Boston Review (please don't mistake this for my opinion):
The Real Path to Abundance - Boston Review
-I can provide a summary of the author's main ideas at the meetup for those who have not read the book.
-We are meeting at Resto Vego on St-Denis at 6:00 pm. I will be downstairs in the corner to your right. The table says "reserved".
-Resto vego is a vegetarian buffet restaurant, they have a great buffet and coffee. The manager doesn't allow people to bring food to eat from outside into the restaurant.
-No meetup fee! 😊😃😀

The book's main points are:
Resource scarcity is not real, humanity assumes it is real, then acts on self-fulfilling assumptions that cause actual scarcity:
-Rather than fighting over how to divide a shrinking pie, we must grow the pie—and to do that, we must build.
-Housing: Affordability crises in places like San Francisco and New York are due to local opposition and zoning restrictions—not physical limits.
-Energy: Clean energy deployment is slowed not by tech but by local opposition and slow permitting.
-Science & Infrastructure: Innovation is slowed by lack of government coordination and investment.
-Contrary to both conservative minimalism and liberal caution, the authors argue for a strong, capable, ambitious government that builds things at scale—like Operation Warp Speed or the interstate highway system.
-Current processes for public projects are paralyzed by endless reviews, lawsuits, and delays.
-They argue that delivering tangible improvements to people’s lives is the best defense against authoritarianism and populism.

Finally, they argue that rapid government-controlled production can occur while keeping democracy, a healthy environment and equality intact.