Basic economic law should dictate much more public policy. The laws of supply and demand, gains from specialization and trade, and other economic laws should make decision-making far simpler and public policy.
Affordable housing could be had for all with laws that allow for much more high-density housing, and permitting rules are much quicker and easier to go through. Developers would build tons more housing and drive prices down.
Healthcare, legal help, internet and many other areas could have far lower prices by removing the government issued monopolies (franchised monopolies). Government should not limit practice in any field by issuing licenses. People could rely upon private organizations that issue licenses instead. People are afraid that quality would go down under a system like this, however if you compare Yelp to government issued restaurant ratings you will find that the private review sites are far more accurate.