Op-edsDoes America Need a New Operating Philosophy?
Philip K. Howard, The Atlantic, July 12, 2010
Recounting a recent conversation, Philip K. Howard writes on his blog on TheAtlantic.com that “America has lost sight of the core principle of freedom—the power of each individual, at every level of responsibility, to make choices that adapt to current goals and circumstances.” He continues that our blindness to this principle—caused by the growth of law—has resulted in doctors practicing defensively, teachers losing control of their classrooms, and government officials being unable to balance budgets. Howard calls for a popular movement to revive individual responsibility, writing that “[i]t’s hard to see any way forward except a new approach to law and government that re-empowers people to grab hold of problems and put their hands to work to solve the challenges of our time.”
Can Government Make Essential Choices?
Philip K. Howard, The Atlantic, June 22, 2010
Writing on his blog on the TheAtlantic.com, Philip K. Howard ties the June 2010 forum held by Common Good – Ending Government Paralysis – to the gubernatorial campaigns of Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas and New York's Andrew Cuomo, both of which are promising to pare back law and bureaucracy that prevent officials from making needed choices.
Time for a Movement for Legal Reform
Philip K. Howard, The Atlantic, March 20, 2010
Philip K. Howard argues that “[m]odern law has severed people from their best judgment.” He relates that, in addition to America's schools and hospitals, Washington is so “paralyzed by the accretion of law” that even President Obama “is powerless in the face of [it]” (noting that an obsolete 1931 law “prevented the President from hiring thousands of people last year”). “Reviving personal initiative is impossible without basic legal overhaul,” Howard writes – but “neither political party in the US has even a glimmer of interest in this issue.” “What's needed here is a movement," he concludes. "People who believe the system is broken have to band together and force change upon a political system that seems content to preside over a status quo of slow suffocation.”
Too Much Law Suffocating America
Philip K. Howard, CNN.com, February 23, 2010
In an op-ed for CNN.com, Common Good Chair Philip K. Howard argues that the partisanship that has paralyzed Washington is “a symptom of a deeper powerlessness" – that "[p]oliticians posture and point fingers because they've learned it's impossible to take responsibility.” “Responsibility is simple,” he explains, but that restoring it "requires a kind of revolution – an organized, coherent movement to replace existing bureaucracy with new goals and individual mandates to achieve them.”
Washington vs. 'Common Sense'
Philip K. Howard, Wall Street Journal, February 4, 2010
Philip K. Howard argues that “common sense is nonexistent” in Washington. Howard cites examples of how law and bureaucracy have stymied schools, American infrastructure, and health care reform, and contends: “What's missing in government is the activating principle of all human accomplishment—individual responsibility. America must shift the goal of reform from desired results—universal health care, effective schools—to a new philosophy that allows people to get things done.”
Problems With Protocols
Philip K. Howard, Wall Street Journal, January 20, 2010
In his review of Atul Gawande’s "Checklist Manifesto," Philip K. Howard argues: “Dr. Gawande is right to note that checklists are indispensable in situations where a small mistake can lead to tragic consequences, as in surgery. But his call for a broad checklist regime would be counterproductive—fraught with all the dangers of bureaucracy and excessive law.”
Avoiding Institutional Madness
Philip K. Howard, The Atlantic, November 6, 2009
In his blog on TheAtlantic.com, Philip K. Howard asserts that if there’s a lesson to be learned from such tragedies as the mass shooting at Fort Hood, “it’s that we need to be free to act on our judgment about people whom we think are unbalanced.”
Confusion at the Bench
Philip K. Howard, The Atlantic, July 9, 2009
"America needs a new judicial philosophy," argues Philip K. Howard in a posting for TheAtlantic.com. "Instead of focusing on enforcing 'rights' and avoiding 'activism,' judges should look to the effects of lawsuits on the functioning of society, and see their job as drawing 'boundaries' and achieving a 'balance' between competing interests of freedom and individual grievances."
The Limits of Law: Ricci and the Elusive Quest for Workplace Fairness
Philip K. Howard, The Atlantic, July 1, 2009
Philip K. Howard argues at TheAtlantic.com that law cannot be used to “enforce fairness in daily relations,” and that too much time is spent by courts dissecting the fine points of individual claims. “Law can guard against overt patterns of discrimination,” he explains, “but intervening in specific employment decisions creates a hopeless morass.”
Let's 'Restructure' Washington While We're at It
Philip K. Howard, Wall Street Journal, December 19, 2008
Common Good Chair Philip K. Howard argues that it’s not only Detroit that needs ‘a complete restructuring,’ but also Washington itself. “Like Detroit,” he writes, “Washington has lost its way.”
Schools Keep Our Kids Safe from Hula-Hoops
Betsy Hart, Chicago Sun Times, September 5, 2008
Hart builds on Common Good Chair Philip K. Howard's Wall Street Journal op-ed, "Why Safe Kids Are Becoming Fat Kids." She focuses on how schools are overly concerned with protecting students from risk.
Why Safe Kids Are Becoming Fat Kids
Philip K. Howard, Wall Street Journal, August 13, 2008
Common Good Chair Philip K. Howard asks, how do we lure children who are victims of a safety-obsessed culture off the sofa? One way is to restore moderate risk into their activities.
Judges Should Take Back Their Authority
Philip K. Howard, The Huffington Post, June 14, 2007
Common Good Chair Philip K. Howard points to two lawsuits as examples of what's gone wrong with American justice. To take back control of the courtroom, judges need to draw the line on who can sue for what.
Conley R.I.P.
Philip K. Howard, New York Sun, June 4, 2007
Common Good Chair Philip K. Howard discusses the Supreme Court's recent repudiation of Conley v. Gibson, a 1957 case which opened the floodgates to abusive litigation, and argues that the Court should take responsibility for a shift in judicial approach towards affirmative assertion of values of reasonableness.
Beyond Tort Reform
Philip K. Howard, New York Sun, February 5, 2007
A Tree Falls in Connecticut
Philip K. Howard, New York Times, July 30, 2006
Making Civil Justice Sane
Philip K. Howard, City Journal, April 17, 2006
Judges should stop unreasonable lawsuits before they start.
When Fear Is Deadly
Philip K. Howard, The New York Sun, March 14, 2006
Common Good Chair Philip Howard argues that the case of Charles Cullen, the nurse who pleaded guilty to killing at least 29 patients in hospitals in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, demonstrates that we need reform in employment law so that fear of litigation does not stop supervisors from giving honest references about their employees.
Charity Case
Philip K. Howard, The Wall Street Journal, March 17, 2005
Common Good chair Philip K. Howard discusses how volunteerism has become the latest casualty of American justice.
It's No Fun Playing Torts
Philip K. Howard, Legal Times, November 15, 2004
This op-ed by Common Good chair Philip K. Howard argues that "[T]he core question in civil justice--who can sue for what--must be decided as a matter of law by judges, not by juries on an ad hoc basis."
Impose Legal Limits to Preserve Freedoms
Griffin Bell and Alan Simpson, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, March 5, 2004
Former U.S. Attorney General Griffin Bell and former U.S. Senator Alan Simpson, both Common Good Advisory Board members, argue that Congress must draw the line on who can sue for what. "What's really at stake ... is ... the health and vitality of common institutions such as schools and hospitals and, ultimately, the fabric of a free society."
When Judges Won't Judge
Philip K. Howard, The Wall Street Journal, October 22, 2003
Common Good chair Philip K. Howard argues that judges must act as gatekeepers, drawing the line on who can sue for what.
Stifling the Civil Service
Steven Kelman, July 31, 2003
An op-ed by CG Advisory Board Member Steven Kelman, who argues that "we have too much bureaucracy in government, and not enough incentives for our civil servants to be creative and innovative."
A Basis for Reform
Steve Kelman, FCW.Com, January 27, 2003
CG Advisory Board Member Steve Kelman comments on the Volcker Commission report.
The Death of Common Sense
Philip K. Howard, Ob. Gyn. News, January 1, 2003
"For every lawsuit, there are millions and probably billions of decisions made or not made reasonably, every day, because of fear of the system. It has literally changed our culture."
A Drag on Our National Security
Philip K. Howard, The Washington Post, October 15, 2002
"What's ultimately needed is a new deal for public servants. The civil service system is broken. Its worst flaw -- that it suppresses the human element needed to get the job done -- is precisely what America cannot afford when ferreting out the terrorists trying to destroy the fabric of our free society."
Everybody Loses
Philip K. Howard, Daily News, September 29, 2002
"Open the door to litigation over fairness after a mass tragedy, and no one will ever be satisfied."
Facing the Limits of Law, and of Lawsuits
Philip K. Howard, New York Times, September 21, 2002
"An important lesson of Sept. 11 is that Americans must come together and face the future with a new awareness of our risks and responsibilities. Descending into a pit of litigation and recrimination cannot satisfy the families of victims; their loss can never be satisfied. But this litigation will harm all of society."
There Is No Right to Sue
Philip K. Howard, The Wall Street Journal, July 31, 2002
"The point of law is not to let anyone sue for anything. Law's goal is closer to the opposite: to draw the boundaries of who can sue for what."
We're Reaping What We Sue
George S. McGovern and Alan K. Simpson, Wall Street Journal, April 17, 2002
Former U.S. Senators from opposite sides of the aisle, George S. McGovern and Alan K. Simpson write, "Lawsuits, a vital tool of justice, support a free society only when judges and legislatures take the responsibility of deciding who can sue for what. Otherwise, fear replaces freedom." Mr. McGovern and Mr. Simpson are both Common Good Advisory Board Members.
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