Common Good Chair Philip K. Howard’s new book, Not Accountable: Rethinking the Constitutionality of Public Employee Unions, was published by Rodin Books on January 24. In the book, he argues that public employee unions have undermined democratic governance and should be unconstitutional. Constitutional government can’t work when elected leaders lose control over public operating machinery.
Read MoreEvery public dollar involves a moral choice. A dollar squandered is a dollar not available to care for someone who is needy or hungry. Inefficient work rules are like burning money. It should be unacceptable that trash collection in New York and other big cities costs twice what private carters charge. The purpose of government is to serve the public—as the Constitution provides, to “promote the general Welfare.” But public unions have a different agenda.
Read MoreGovernors and mayors no longer have authority to fix broken schools, fire bad cops or manage public services responsibly. Public unions have a stranglehold over the operating machinery of government. A governor or mayor comes into office with his or her hands tied by detailed collective bargaining agreements and other operating controls. So what’s the point of democracy? To elect officials who are figureheads?
Read MoreNot Accountable is now out, exposing the harms to democracy caused by public employee unions that should be unconstitutional. This week it received a number of thoughtful reviews.
Read MoreNo society, organization, or group of people can function effectively without accountability. Accountability is essential for mutual trust. The prospect of accountability is the backdrop for a culture of shared energy and values. "A social organism of any sort whatever, large or small, is what it is because each member proceeds to his own duty," philosopher William James noted, "with a trust that the other members will simultaneously do theirs."
Read MorePhilip Howard talks about Not Accountable with C-SPAN CEO Susan Swain.
Read MoreCEI President Kent Lassman moderates a conversation with Philip Howard about Not Accountable.
Read MoreLegal scholars Adam White and Jace Lington from the C. Boyden Gray Center for the Study of the Administrative State talk with Philip Howard about Not Accountable.
Read MoreDavid Webb interviews Philip Howard about Not Accountable.
Read MoreOn January 24, 2023, Rodin Books will publish Not Accountable: Rethinking the Constitutionality of Public Employee Unions by Philip K. Howard. In Not Accountable, the respected lawyer, author, and public intellectual argues that public employee unions have undermined democratic governance and should be unconstitutional.
Read MoreIt’s time to recognize that no overhaul vision will come from either party. Rocking the boat is too uncertain. Better to stick with the status quo. So nothing much will change, and voter frustration and cynicism will grow. A new governing vision is needed to fill the vacuum. With enough support, some candidates in 2024 might embrace it.
Read MoreThe paralysis of modern democracies is often blamed on polarized politics. But there are structural causes for paralysis as well. These structural defects predated and fostered extremism and must be fixed for democracy to work again. Governing sensibly is impossible without a new operating framework activated by responsible humans.
Read MoreWashington doesn’t work, as we know. But the harsher reality is that Washington can’t realistically make itself work. The governing structure is legal quicksand, allowing any naysayer to block almost anything. Perhaps worse, the political culture has settled into a downward spiral of failure, in which parties compete, not by getting things done, but by blaming the other side.
Read MoreAn uncomfortable truth underlies the frustration with democracy that drives people to extremism. That truth is this: Governing sensibly is basically impossible in a bureaucratic and legal jungle. Common sense disappears into the quicksand of thick rulebooks, lengthy processes, and claimed rights. Teachers can’t maintain order, officials can’t approve new transmission lines, and mayors can’t fire rogue cops.
Read MoreThis week, Senator Joe Manchin’s infrastructure permitting reform, aimed at energy projects and supported by The White House, was killed by a weird coalition of Republicans and far-left Democrats. The bill would have expedited the construction of high-speed transmission lines—a reform strongly supported by the editorial board of The Washington Post and other mainstream observers.
Read MorePaul Light at Brookings released a report last week which concluded that “public demand for ‘very major’ government reform is at a twenty-year high” and that “confidence in government to do the right thing is at a historic low.” Citing our work, the report calls for “large-scale repairs to aging systems and broken bureaucracy.”
Read MoreGoverning is not a process of perfection. Like other human activities, governing involves tradeoffs and trial and error. One of the most important tradeoffs involves timing. Delay in governing often means failure. Nowhere is this more true than with environmental reviews for infrastructure. Every year of delay for new power lines, modernized ports, congestion pricing for city traffic, and road bottlenecks means more pollution and inefficiency.
Read MoreFormer EPA General Counsel E. Donald Elliott traces Philip Howard’s and Common Good’s efforts to streamline infrastructure permitting. “Every successful reform needs a sponsor, someone who is committed to seeing it through thick and thin over the years that it takes to get things done,” he writes.
Read MorePhilip Howard talks with Cheryl Lumley on the Bold & Blunt podcast.
Read MorePhilip Howard talks with Jon Caldara about the effects of public sector unions.
Read More
