Omen and opportunity: Jon Coupal and Scott Beyer talk political reads

In this installment of Opportunity Now’s favorite political book series, Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association (HJTA) president Jon Coupal and Market Urbanism Report editor Scott Beyer highlight powerful reads that have both inspired and challenged them—depicting in fine lines the state of our nation, as well as possibilities of transformation through “ordinary citizens’” perseverance. To receive daily updates of new Opp Now stories, click here.

Jon Coupal:

Not surprisingly, one of my favorite political books is by Howard Jarvis, “I’m Mad As Hell,” about the Prop 13 campaign and the modern tax revolt movement. It chronicles the extraordinary effort by Howard to bring much-needed tax relief to California homeowners. To me, it is a testament to the tenacity of one individual who never gave up despite the massive opposition forces aligned against him.

It also provides a valuable lesson how ordinary citizens can mobilize against political elites and entrenched bureaucrats.

Scott Beyer:

This is about Jane Jacobs' “The Death and Life of Great American Cities”: Jane Jacobs was writing at a time when government was destroying cities—literally. In post-WWII America, centralized bureaucracies entered thriving urban neighborhoods and razed them in the name of slum clearance. They replaced them with high-rise public housing projects that became symbols of decay. Jane Jacobs, better than any writer before or since, described the lunacy of this idea.

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