Breaking the gridlock

In his book The Death of Common Sense, Philip Howard narrates an incident when nuns from Mother Teresa’s charity were seeking abandoned buildings owned by New York City. Under the arrangement between Mother Teresa and mayor Ed Koch, the city would hand over the building for a dollar and the charity would refurbish it for the homeless. Providence seemed to smile on the nuns when they found a fire-gutted building that suited their purpose perfectly—until, of course, bureaucracy and law kicked in.

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