Citizen problem-solvers: Advice to the new Congress on gridlock

Gridlock slows Congress, but in their own work, everyday citizens have to keep solving problems or face the consequences. We asked for their practical advice for the new Congress.

As the national capital, Washington is the place aspiring and veteran navel-gazers converge, endlessly analyzing wrinkles in American politics that average Americans don’t even see.

It’s an art and an industry. Ideally, they would value the perspectives of farmers and firefighters, teachers and truck drivers – welcoming their ideas and refining them through all this thinking and talking. 

But sometimes those...