The Wise Economy Telescope, June 9

Inclusion and valuing others... except for cicadas. Diediediedie.

In between dodging Giant Screaming Loud Bugs That Fly Like Drunks, we’ve got some interesting stuff for you this week. It’s an ideal collection of readings for hiding indoors and keeping the red eyed psychos out of your hair (Those of you not in the Midwest can Google “Brood X,” or just smile and nod and move on.)

Yes, you should stop asking the public what they want.

Daniel Herriges at Strong Towns did something that makes me a little jealous — he put his finger on one of the biggest problems with how governments do public engagement, and he landed that finger precisely on the bull’s eye with less words than this sentence.

It's not just that much [public engagement] is lazily designed to check off a box on a list of requirements—though that's true. It's not just that there's a built-in power imbalance, in which public feedback tends to overrepresent groups with a lot of access to and familiarity with the political process—older, wealthier, whiter, and more politically engaged resi…