Ep. 45: Joe Waters on the Common Good, Family Policy, and Predictability
We Made This Political Podcast · Lauren Hall
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Show Notes
Lura Forcum and Lauren Hall host Joe Waters, CEO of Capita, to discuss how government should promote the common good by creating social conditions that help people and families flourish. Waters explains Capita’s founding in 2018 to address how major transformations—artificial intelligence, demographic change, political realignment, and climate disruption—affect families, and to push longer-term policy thinking beyond short-term fixes. He highlights Capita’s work with the Aspen Institute on the U.S. Early Years Climate Action Task Force and its Unifying Family Policy series. The conversation focuses on public distrust driven by systems failures, the need for politicians to listen more directly to constituents, and the importance of stability and predictability in work schedules and public institutions. They also discuss mental health as shaped by family and community conditions, Waters’ Catholic social teaching framework, and sources of optimism including springtime and anticipated papal interventions.
00:00 Common Good Defined
00:44 Podcast Introductions
02:18 Why Capita Exists
05:52 Climate and Early Years
08:08 Family Policy Agenda
10:27 Wicked Problems Framework
11:58 Center Left Lost Narrative
17:20 FDR Lessons on Trust
19:17 Listening and Access Gap
26:47 Stability and Predictability
29:47 Unpredictability And Politics
30:48 Regressive Impacts Of Closures
32:01 Institution Attacks And Chaos
33:54 Democrats And Durable Governance
34:42 Cuts Medicaid Snap Fallout
36:15 Exploitation And Anti Incumbent Wave
37:43 Mental Health Beyond Individuals
42:07 Common Good And Citizenship
45:59 Stability Across Ideologies
49:56 Catholic Social Teaching Lens
51:22 Wrap Up And Where To Follow
52:18 Optimism Spring And Pope Leo
54:33 Final Thanks And Outro
Resources
Find Joe and his podcast Per Capita at Capita.org.
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