In China, mayors and governors are promoted based on their ability to meet national priorities. As AI safety becomes a central government goal, these local leaders are now incentivized to create experimental zones and novel regulatory approaches, driving bottom-up policy innovation that can later be adopted nationally.

NYC's ban on smoking in bars, initially met with widespread criticism, became a popular and accepted norm. This shows that effective public health leadership sometimes involves implementing policies that are unpopular at first but create long-term societal benefits.

While national politics can be divisive and disheartening, city-level initiatives offer hope. In a local context, people are neighbors who must collaborate, respect each other's humanity, and work towards a common goal of improving their community. This forced cooperation creates a positive, inspiring model for progress.

The appointment of an AI czar follows a historical US pattern of creating such roles during crises like WWI or the oil crisis. It's a mechanism to bypass slow government bureaucracies for fast-moving industries, signaling that the government views AI with the same urgency as a national emergency requiring swift, coordinated action.

When Congress fails to act on a major crisis, executive agencies may stretch their existing legal authorities to address the problem (e.g., the COVID eviction moratorium). This often leads to legal challenges and accusations of overreach that stem from legislative paralysis.

Federal agencies are more reliable clients than state or local governments because they can print money to cover debts. State and local entities often have balanced budget requirements and can face shortfalls after disasters, risking non-payment on fulfilled contracts.

When a public health intervention successfully prevents a crisis, the lack of a negative outcome makes the initial action seem like an unnecessary overreaction. This paradox makes it difficult to justify and maintain funding for preventative measures whose success is invisible.

To improve federal efficiency beyond partisan politics, Oliver Libby proposes creating a Chief Operating Officer for the U.S. government. Modeled after the long-term, cross-administration tenure of the Fed Chair, this role would focus on making government work better for citizens regardless of who is in power.

The CDC's function isn't to create policy mandates but to provide scientific outcomes to policymakers (e.g., "If everyone wears masks, COVID spread will decrease"). This distinction leaves value-based policy decisions to elected leaders, preserving the agency's scientific objectivity.