We often hear exhortations that government officials should act on the “will of the people.” But since the citizens are not monolithic, which people should those officials be listening to? As an example, in 2012 El Paso voters approved a bond referendum to build an entertainment center in downtown. But when more detailed plans became…
With the government shutdown entering its second week, the blame game is reaching new heights. In the Washington Post, Ezra Klein lists thirteen reasons why Washington is failing. The biggest reason, according to Klein, is that Systems like our own have a broad tendency toward instability and partisan conflict because a democratically elected executive can come…
This was originally posted on Live Oaks on July 12, 2010. Comments have not been migrated. In an effort to balance their budgets, cities across the nation are reducing the money they spend on public libraries. Not surprisingly, the Chronicle finds this “alarming”: For Americans of limited means, and that includes many Houstonians, public libraries…
In 1989, nations in Eastern Europe rebelled against the communist dictatorships that controlled their lives. In Self Defense, an organization that promoted individual rights, sent my article, “New Democracies Need Ideas More Than Money,” in response to calls for American financial aid to the budding democracies. Click here to read the article.