Progressives’ faith in the federal government’s ability to make policies to better Americans’ lives goes back at least a century. President Joseph Biden certainly has shown a zeal for having the federal government do more. Both his State of the Union address and fiscal year 2025 budget would add more items to the fed’s to-do list. Left unaddressed is the underlying assumption […]
Patrick Dorismond: Remembering a Victim ...
President Barack Obama has wielded his executive authority to reduce the amount of military equipment flowing to local cops. His action comes in response to demonstrations of force by policy during the civil disturbances in Ferguson and Baltimore. Congressmen on the right and left also have been up in arms about this matter, albeit for […]
Eli Lehrer, “Dead in the Water: The Fede
Eli Lehrer has written an interesting article on the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). As he frames it, this insurance program illustrative of the challenge of taking a clever policy idea and translating it into a successful program. Between idea and action are politics and administration, both of which are critical to the success of a […]
DC Fined Me for Having Two Stickers On M...
Earlier this year, the Washington Post reported that the District of Columbia government had reaped $92.6 million from issuing traffic tickets. This is a record amount, $12 million (13%) more than the previous year. According to the Metropolitan Police Department’s website, DC has over 120 traffic cameras. Mayor Vincent Gray suggests that the way to […]
Diane Ravitch, The Death and Life of the...
This book arrived in spring 2010, and from the moment I saw it I knew I had to read and review it. A decade ago I was Diane’s research assistant and she served on my dissertation committee. I learned much from her, and I long have admired her intellect and intensity, and that she made […]
First We Kill All the Policy Wonks
The blog of the American Enterprise Institute carries my impishly titled, “First We Kill All the Policy Wonks” (January 21, 2011). The piece is a response to a smart post by Mike Konczal, a fellow at the Roosevelt Institute. Its subject? Edward C. Banfield’s essay, Policy Science As Metaphysical Madness (1977). Obviously, I do not […]