Back to top Jump to featured resources

Viewing all Articles from The Public Good Page 3 of 28

school_photo_main
Featured Article filed under The Public Good | Written by David Morris | 2 Comments | Updated on Aug 5, 2012

Charter Schools and Kudzu

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/charter-schools-kudzu-2/

On this, the 20th anniversary of the opening of the first charter school, kudzu comes to mind. In the 1930s the Soil Conservation Service (SCS) paid farmers $8 per acre to plant this Japanese vine whose deep root structure helps reduce erosion and enrich a depleted soil.  Farmers planted more than 1.2 million acres. Twenty… Continue reading

drinking water
Article filed under The Public Good | Written by David Morris | No Comments | Updated on Aug 3, 2012

Revolution of the Thirsty

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

Karen Piper, Professor of English at the University of Missouri in Columbia informs us of a factor behind the spring uprising in Egypt the mass media missed:  the privatization of water. The American media focused mainly on internal corruption and oppression. They did not report on the role of the international superpowers in influencing the… Continue reading

healthcarereform2009-09-08-1252412141
Featured Article filed under The Public Good | Written by David Morris | No Comments | Updated on Jul 27, 2012

The Health Care Debate: From the Sublime to the Ridiculous

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/debating-health-care-american-bubble/

Nowhere is the phrase American Exceptionalism more appropriately used than when describing our debate over health care.  Outside the bubble that is the United States health care is viewed as a right, recognition that sickness and injury can strike anyone despite their best efforts and an acknowledgement of a basic obligation civilized societies have to… Continue reading

post-office-300x262
Featured Article filed under The Public Good | Written by David Morris | No Comments | Updated on Jul 26, 2012

The Chutzpah of Peter Orszag

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

If chutzpah is killing your parents then throwing yourself on the mercy of the court because you’re an orphan then Peter Orszag is the poster child for chutzpah.  In his recent article in Bloomberg News he insists the best fix for the post office is to take it private.  Where does the chutzpah come from? … Continue reading

640px-Sky_over_Washington_Monument
Featured Article filed under The Public Good | Written by David Morris | 2 Comments | Updated on Jul 25, 2012

Texas Judge Rules The Sky Belongs To Us All

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/texas-judge-rules-sky-belongs/

“Texas judge rules atmosphere, air is a public trust”, reads the headline in the Boston Globe.  A tiny breakthrough but with big potential consequences.  And as we continue to suffer from one of the most extended heat waves in US history, as major crops wither and fires rage in a dozen states, we need all… Continue reading

Article filed under The Public Good | Written by David Morris | No Comments | Updated on Jun 22, 2012

“We’re not going to attack the people who have been there for us.”

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

Every June the Campaign for America’s Future hosts the well-attended and content-rich Take Back America Conference in Washington, D.C. This year Van Jones, one of the most dynamic speakers in America, with a list of accomplishments long enough that I’ll simply refer you to Wikipedia, delivered an inspiring Keynote Address in which he offered his… Continue reading

Article filed under The Public Good | Written by David Morris | No Comments | Updated on Jun 18, 2012

Our Winnipeg or Theirs?

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

A new video, released on June 15th by the Canadian Union for Public Employees proves you can communicate a big idea–the privatization of municipal services–by looking at the issue through the eyes of school children. The 5 minute video, made by Winnipeg artists Sean and Christian Procter, uses a light touch and animated figures to… Continue reading

schoolbus
Featured Article filed under The Public Good | Written by David Morris | No Comments | Updated on Jun 4, 2012

Business Can’t Win the Privatization Game Without a Handicap

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/private-sector-isnt-competitive-subsidy/

Handicapping occurs in sports to equalize the winning chances of contestants of varying abilities. Sometimes, as in horse racing, superior horses, based on past performance, are required to carry more weight.  Sometimes, as in golf, poorer players are allowed more strokes. Unbeknownst to most of us, the competition between the public and private sectors is… Continue reading

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

A City is Not a Private Corporation Austin Reminds Us

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/austin-reminding-city-private-corporation/

A private corporation has one legal obligation:  to maximize the return to its shareholders.  As Milton Friedman famously remarked, “There is one and only one social responsibility of business-to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profit….” A city is also legally structured as a corporation, but a municipal corporation has… Continue reading

petaluma post office
Featured Article filed under The Public Good | Written by David Morris | 2 Comments | Updated on May 29, 2012

How Phantom Accounting Is Destroying The Post Office

The content that follows was originally published on the Institute for Local Self-Reliance website at http://www.ilsr.org/phantom-accounting-destroying-post-office/

As every 6 year old learns, there is real and there is make believe. The massive Post Office deficit that is driving management to commit institutional suicide by ending 6 day delivery, closing half of the nations’ 30,000 or so post offices and half it’s 500 mail processing centers, and laying off over 200,000 workers,… Continue reading