In all the talk about the federal deficit, why is the single largest culprit left out of the conversation? Why is the one part of government that best epitomizes everything conservatives say they hate about government— waste, incompetence, and corruption—all but exempt from conservative criticism? Of course, I’m talking about the Pentagon. Any serious battle plan … Read More
Thanks to Christopher Mitchell, Director of the Telecommunications as Commons Initiative at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance for contributing to this article. You can, and should follow his reporting on public networks at www.muninetworks.org. Conservatives would have us believe the public sector can’t compete with the private sector. The private sector itself knows better. Nowhere is … Read More
“Unlike the public sector, the private sector is bred for efficiency. Left to its own devices, it will always find the means to provide services faster, cheaper, and more effectively than will governments,” said James Jay Carafano. I suspect the vast majority of Americans would agree with Mr. Carafano. They probably consider the statement self-evident. The facts, however, lead to the opposite conclusion. When not handicapped by regulations designed to subsidize the private sector, the public sector often provides services faster, cheaper and more effectively.… Read More
The free lending public library is a uniquely American invention. Neighborhood based, locally financed, open to all, the public library is a treasure that finds itself too often on the periphery of public policy and attention. Given the remarkable past and present of the public library that should change.… Read More
America’s leaders are right. America is exceptional. But not in the way they assert. History has blessed America with unprecedented advantages, but we have not used them wisely. We are indeed number 1 among nations in many areas, but these are areas where being number 1 is a sign of failure, not success. … Read More
The only effective answer to organized greed is organized labor. Thomas Donohue, Former President AFL-CIO In the early 1980s Ricardo Levins Morales, an artist and labor activist in Minneapolis designed a bumper sticker with a simple eight-word message, “From the people who brought you the weekend. “ Since then, he’s sold tens of thousands. In 2007 … Read More
After winning an Oscar for Best Documentary for Inside Job, Charles Ferguson injected some much-needed real world relevance amidst the fabulously glitzy proceedings. … Read More
Dear football fan, The Superbowl is over. But the real combat is just beginning. This time it’s not Packers v. Steelers. It’s Workers v. Bosses. And for thousands of workers and millions of fans, this is the game that counts. In the game of football, the rules favor neither side. And they are enforced. Each team … Read More
