If we don’t trust government, we resent (and often evade) its laws. If we don’t trust charities, we stop giving. If we don’t trust the clergy, we lose respect for religion. If we don’t trust the media, we tune it out. The problem is, when distrust and cynicism become too widespread, society comes apart.
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Category Archives: Public Policy and Governance
Outsourcing Patriotism
Last December, The Guardian reported that private corporations "are now the second biggest contributor to coalition forces in Iraq after the Pentagon." An estimated 10,000 "private" soldiers were then in Iraq; one out of every ten servicemen and women. Nearly a third of the budget earmarked that year for the war, or $30 billion dollars, went to private companies. "a booming business which entails replacing soldiers wherever possible with highly paid civilians and hired guns not subject to standard military procedures." Whether such contractors are mercenaries (whose use is banned by the Geneva conventions) is one concern. But the practice raises much graver issues, among them whether the ability to "hire" soldiers has allowed policymakers to wage war by proxy and without the kind of congressional and media oversight to which conventional deployments are subject.
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Mixed Messages
We are hip-deep in our quadrennial passion for Get out the Vote activities–from politicians to rock musicians, everyone’s reminding us of the importance of casting a ballot. It’s a nice sentiment, but have you ever wondered how things would change if we really believed that everyone should vote?
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Are We Safer Yet?
Politicians and pundits can and do argue over the proper role of government, but virtually everyone?from conservative to liberal?will agree that public safety is a core state function. Our leaders are supposed to make policies that are most likely to keep Americans safe at home and abroad. So an important question to ask in the wake of the war against Iraq is: are we safer than we were before?
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Style, Substance & Campaigns for Office
Last week, gubernatorial candidate Mitch Daniels unveiled his economic plan. What caught my eye, however, was not the plan itself, but the final sentence in the press announcement. After promising to populate the government with "new ideas and new people," Mitch reportedly concluded with the following sentence: "The what is not as important as the who." In other words, good people are more important than good programs or ideas.
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