Six Functions of Government

The Affordability and Opportunity Agenda identifies six key functions of government that are necessary for fixing broken systems:

Referee (Fair Rules): Set and enforce fair rules—anti-corruption, competition, consumer protections, and fair rules of politics.
Engineer (Fix Incentives): Redesign incentives so costs and risks aren’t dumped on the public—standards, guardrails, and “stop private gain / public risk” rules.
Builder (Basics Capacity): Enable the real-world capacity people need—housing supply, child care, health care access, and other essentials.
Investor (Future Strength): Invest for long-term strength—research, resilience, infrastructure, and future-ready capacity.
Platform Steward (Make Systems Work): Improve the core systems that must work everywhere—delivery, administration, data, permitting, education/workforce pipelines, and accountability.
Utility Regulator (Essential Networks): Regulate essential services and natural monopolies—energy, broadband, insurance/health systems, and other networks where markets won’t self-correct.

The Affordability and Opporunity Agenda is rooted in what governments can do effectively to fix broken systems and change outcomes—above and beyond just spending more money and implementing more “program” patches. 

The Agenda outlines how each function of government should be judged by whether it gives people more practical control over the conditions shaping their lives. Good government does not just act on people. It builds systems with people, explains trade-offs, and stays accountable for results.

How Governments Fix Systems

Most real solutions use more than one government function at the same time. So when we say “fix the system,” we mean using this toolbox—fair rules, incentives, capacity, investment, delivery, and regulation—in some combination. 

Here’s one concrete example showing how the six functions apply to a complex single problem: housing costs.

Referee (Fair Rules): Enforce fair housing and anti-discrimination rules; crack down on fraud/junk fees; set clear, predictable land-use rules so construction approvals aren’t a political free-for-all.
Engineer (Fix Incentives): Change incentives that push scarcity (e.g., reform zoning/parking rules that block housing; reduce “delay incentives” in approvals; discourage pure speculation where it distorts supply).
Builder (Basics Capacity): Actually increase housing capacity—more homes, faster (e.g., legalize more “missing middle,” support factory-built/modular where it lowers costs, expand rehab/adaptive reuse).
Investor (Future Strength): Invest in enabling infrastructure (water/sewer, transit, schools) so communities can add homes without collapsing services; fund long-term housing supply productivity.
Platform Steward (Make Systems Work): Fix the delivery pipeline—permitting timelines, inspections, standardized approvals, pattern books, transparent dashboards (“receipts”) for units approved/built.
Utility Regulator (Essential Networks): Ensure utility hookups and rates don’t become hidden bottlenecks or cost drivers; coordinate essential network capacity so housing delivery isn’t blocked.

That’s the point of this example: most real fixes require multiple government roles at once—not just more spending and not just more programs built into broken systems. 

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