Privatization

In the wake of the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, donations of time, sweat, courage, and cash should do more than just make us proud of Americans' capacity for caring. They should ultimately prod us to fashion a new way of thinking about the relationship between public and private action, one that escapes the rigid ideological positions that have taken root over the years.

For much of the past two decades, we have been beholden to two… more

Today the American people collectively own the most valuable resource in the emerging information economy: the airwaves, also known as the electromagnetic spectrum. Auctions conducted last year in Europe and early this year in the U.S. suggest that spectrum occupied by commercial licensees has a market value well in excess of $300 billion. Unfortunately, while high bids by wireless phone companies should be a boon to the ordinary citizens who own the airwaves, high prices also evidence a policy-induced spectrum… more

A century ago, great fortunes derived from private control over oil, coal and steel -- the essential inputs to mass industrial production. Today the American people collectively own the most valuable resource in the emerging information economy: the airwaves, also known as the electromagnetic spectrum.

Cellphone use is exploding, and wireless Internet access already is available in certain central city and campus locations. Later in this decade, devices providing anywhere, anytime access to e-mail, entertainment, video-conferencing and databases worldwide could… more

Democrats are already lining up in opposition to the President's plan to reform Social Security. Bush has put forth only an outline of what he proposes … more

Americans as a people own a great wealth of assets -- forests and minerals on public lands, the airwaves and atmosphere, federally funded research, information resources, public spaces, civic institutions, cultural traditions, and more. At a time when the market is seen as the primary prism for judging value, we too often fail to see that some of our most important assets are… more