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About David Morris

David Morris is co-founder of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance and directs its initiative on The Public Good. He is the author of New City States and four other non-fiction books. His essays on public policy are regularly published by On the Commons, Alternet, Common Dreams and the Huffington Post. More

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Article filed under The Public Good | Written by David Morris | No Comments | Updated on Apr 11, 2012

Wisconsin To Stop Doing Cost-Benefit Studies Because They Find Public Is Better

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/wisconsin-stop-cost-benefit-studies-find-public/

Back in 2005,  Wisconsin state agencies were found to be spending more contracting out for services than if they were done by existing public employees.  In response the legislature, with bipartisan support, passed a bill requiring agencies to conduct a cost-benefit analysis before privatizing large public contracts. By far the biggest state government outsourcer was… Continue reading

Article filed under The Public Good | Written by David Morris | 1 Comment | Updated on Apr 10, 2012

The Data Says That Privatization is Worse

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/evidence-privatization-worse/

The next time a privateer tells you how awful government is and how wonderful private corporations are, send him a copy of In the Public Interest’s one pager, Five Myths About Privatization.  Complete with footnoted sources, it is a refreshing rejoinder to the non-footnoted narrative that has regrettably come to define the American zeitgeist. For… Continue reading

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Featured Article, ILSR Press Room filed under The Public Good | Written by David Morris | No Comments | Updated on Apr 10, 2012

Post Offices: Too Important To Be Stamped Out

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/post-offices-important-stamped/

Star Tribune, April 9, 2012 In this piece in the Star Tribune David Morris speaks out on the need to stop the tidal wave of post office closings that will occur when the Post Office’s self-imposed moratorium ends in mid May. Last year, 3,600 communities, about 90 in Minnesota, were notified that they’ll probably lose… Continue reading

Article filed under The Public Good | Written by David Morris | 1 Comment | Updated on Apr 10, 2012

Why Voter Photo ID Is Wrongheaded In One Page

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/voter-photo-id-wrongheaded-page/

This one page flyer from the ACLU cuts to the heart of the issue. For example, “Despite a massive investigation by voter ID proponents, there were only 160 voter eligibility violation cases filed in 2011, and only 140 convictions. All of which were felons voting before they were eligible. 2,700,000 votes were cast in 2010… Continue reading

Article filed under The Public Good | Written by David Morris | No Comments | Updated on Apr 6, 2012

Data Finds Arizona Private Prisons Are Poor Investment. Arizona Responds By No Longer Collecting Data

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/data-finds-arizona-private-prisons-poor-investment-arizona-responds-longer-collecting-data/

Since 1987, Arizona’s Department of Corrections has been legislatively mandated to produce cost and quality reviews for its private prisons, in part to judge how they compare with state-run facilities. The data on costs were collected, but in recent years, it took a lawsuit by the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) for the Department of… Continue reading

Article filed under The Public Good | Written by David Morris | No Comments | Updated on Apr 5, 2012

A Real World Answer to Justice Scalia

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/real-world-answer-justice-scalia/

In all other industrialized nations people who get sick get medical care without fear of the financial consequences of medical expenses.  They may have to pay for insurance or they may pay in taxes, but no matter how poor a family is, its members health care is covered. But not in the United States.  In… Continue reading

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Featured Article filed under The Public Good | Written by David Morris | 4 Comments | Updated on Apr 4, 2012

Democracy Under Attack

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/democracy-attack/

For its first 200 years the American Republic slowly, sometimes infuriatingly slowly and at horrific human cost (e.g. the Civil War) expanded the franchise. In 1870 the 15th Amendment gave blacks the right to vote.  In 1920, the 19th Amendment extended the franchise to women. In 1924 Congress granted Native Americans citizenship and thus the… Continue reading

filed under Banking, The Public Good | Written by David Morris | No Comments | Updated on Mar 29, 2012

Fed Report Says Break Up The Big Banks

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/fed-report-says-break-up-the-big-banks/

One more report decrying the scale and potential for mischief of our large banks might pass unnoticed except for its source: the Federal Reserve System, the oversight wing of large banks. When the regulatory center of capitalism blows the whistle on the actual center of capitalism that’s big news.  In the lead essay of a… Continue reading

Article filed under The Public Good | Written by David Morris | No Comments | Updated on Mar 26, 2012

Boston Community Capital Shows the Way on Foreclosures

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/boston-community-capital-shows-the-way-on-foreclosures/

While the nation’s biggest banks, with a taxpayer bailout of more than $2.5 trillion and counting, continue to refuse to write down the principal on a mortgage to allow people to stay in their homes, Boston Community Capital (BCC) is showing what is possible.  This small non profit is buying houses out of foreclosure, selling… Continue reading