I though about this NJ ROIC report as I read through The Secular Decline of the American State in the NYU Law Review. Some of these dynamics have been at play for decades, contributing to the already comparatively weak American state. Disrupting decline will require not just a commitment to building state capacity but understanding and accepting the uncomfortable truth that many of the causes of state decline have been longstanding. State programs are often deeply interconnected into other parts of society: state and local governments, non-profit organizations, corporations, and individuals. These effects might even further weaken state capacity, creating a downward spiral as they erode other aspects of state delivery or regulation.