Think Progress always comes up with the most creative spin on things, it's quite impressive.
Mike Lee could have made a case for the impact of the interstate highway system cutting through the old hearts of cities, encouraging sprawl, and diverting travelers away from driving through & patronizing many small towns dotting the landscape along older roadways; and how all this contributes to isolation and economic concentration, eroding social solidarity and trust and feeding dissatisfaction and conflict.
but he didn't actually go into that at all, it was a quick mention of things that might be devolved more to states and localities. Lee's focus in the talk was not on specific programs but in the general effect of nationalizing all political issues and how this feeds conflict & prevents accountability and effective local representation. On a practical level I'd be ( in some cases ) more hesitant than Lee to deconstruct the programs of the federal government, since the states have to be both able and willing to effectively take over these responsibilities. But in terms of the general principle I very much agree with Lee - more local and immediate levels of decision making could do a great deal of good for our country and the crises we face.
That’s a very valid critique of the interstate highway system, and overall I agree that federalism is usually the way to go, but I generally am skeptical that most states *want* to assume responsibly for programs. Easier to make it somebody else’s problem.
