Showing posts with label government. Show all posts
Showing posts with label government. Show all posts

The Private Abuse of the Public Interest: Market Myths and Policy Muddles (Chicago Studies in American Politics) Review

The Private Abuse of the Public Interest: Market Myths and Policy Muddles (Chicago Studies in American Politics)
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The Private Abuse of the Public Interest: Market Myths and Policy Muddles (Chicago Studies in American Politics) ReviewThis is excellent political science and public policy analysis critiquing a philosophy and approach to policymaking that the authors term "market utopianism". It is grounded in a look at how several market-based public policy approaches in 3 areas--health care (HMOs, for-profit health insurance) example), education (public school choice, charter schools, and private school vouchers), and transportation (airline, railroad, and trucking deregulation in the 1980s)--have actually played out in the real world as opposed to the drawing board.
"Market utopianism" is, roughly speaking, the view that market-based government policies are a) presumptively applicable and usually, if not almost always, preferable as a government policy approach, regardless of the issue; and b) require little or nothing in the way of government regulation or other intervention to work well.
In its more extreme versions, often on display in political campaigns in recent decades, it expresses a "markets good, government bad" view that serves as an instantly available, one-size-fits-all response when a candidate is asked what his or her approach to public policy is.
The authors discern a 5-step cycle common to the introduction of market-based reforms in the three policy areas referred to above. The final stage is pragmatic adjustments to the initial policy to correct for its practical flaws. These adjustments entail expanded and more vigorous governmental intervention, contrary to the rhetoric usually accompanying initial adoption of the policies which implies no, or a minimal, role for government in putting them into effect and ensuring they work properly.
For example, in response to consumer complaints about how HMOs have actually functioned, many states have stepped in to pass "patients' bill of rights" laws which constrain the ability of HMOs to deny coverage for certain services or adjudicate patient disputes in-house rather than in an independent, impartial forum.
Drawing lessons from practical experience, the authors describe and advocate what they call an institutional pragmatist, or realist approach as more likely to result in sound, sensible and effective policymaking. This, they maintain, is the approach favored by the real Adam Smith, as opposed to the incomplete version of him trotted out by anti-government, free market ideologues.
At 131 pages, this is a succinct, accessible, well-articulated analysis and reminder of what our actual experience shows: markets do not self-regulate in some sort of blissful government and regulation-free state of nature. Rather, they require vigorous, effective government regulation to function properly. Recommended as a non-technical read for thoughtful policy types and other citizens.The Private Abuse of the Public Interest: Market Myths and Policy Muddles (Chicago Studies in American Politics) Overview

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The Party Decides: Presidential Nominations Before and After Reform (Chicago Studies in American Politics) Review

The Party Decides: Presidential Nominations Before and After Reform (Chicago Studies in American Politics)
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The Party Decides: Presidential Nominations Before and After Reform (Chicago Studies in American Politics) ReviewHow political parties form could be a subject too esoteric to gain interest outside of academic circles. But an understanding of what makes a political party, from intense policy demanders, to their long coalition, has merit to anyone curious about the American political process. The notion that American political parties are passing away is a widely disseminated one. Using copious amounts of statistical data, this book tells a different story. Hardly a potboiler, this book portrays the a history of political parties in an insightful way that will lead one to a different conclusion. You may disagree, but the authors have tried very hard to prove otherwise.The Party Decides: Presidential Nominations Before and After Reform (Chicago Studies in American Politics) Overview

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Grafters and Goo Goos: Corruption and Reform in Chicago, 1833-2003 Review

Grafters and Goo Goos: Corruption and Reform in Chicago, 1833-2003
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Grafters and Goo Goos: Corruption and Reform in Chicago, 1833-2003 ReviewThis is a fairly good survey of the political landscape in the City of Chicago by a veteran journalist. It tries to address the perennial question, to paraphrase Alderman Mathias "Paddy" Bauler, of "Why ain't Chicago ready for reform?"
The book is concerned with political movements and the efforts of progressives and reformers to do battle with boodlers and spoilsmen. In the political language of Chicago, good government types are derided as "goo goos" for their infantile naivete. As Merriner points out, several successful politicins had to make it clear to the precinct workers that they were not reformers in order to secure votes from party regulars.
Given the number of candidates and elections to be treated, there are more than a few errors as to dates. For example, Big Bill Thompson was not elected alderman in 1902. He was elected to the Cook County Board of Commissioners that year. Similarly, Thompson was the sponsor of a reception for expelled US Senator Billy Lorimer, but not while serving as mayor. The welcome home rally occurred earlier. State's Attorney John Wayman did not resign his office in 1912. He chose to run for governor rather than to seek reelection as prosecutor and he lost the Republican nomination to the incumbent governor, Charles S. Deneen in 1912. Wayman left office upon the expiration of his term.
To quote Tip O'Neill, "All politics is local." Merriner does a respectably good job of trying to explain the political culture that is Chicago. The reform elements and progressives fought the good fight, but were outflanked by the grafters at almost every turn. The author is to be complimented for analyzing reams of archival materials, including meeting minutes, reports and correspondence from numerous civic organizations.
This book is an entertaining primer on practical politics in the City of Big Shoulders. It is more fun than stuffing a ballot box and less dangerous than serving as an election judge in one of the river wards.Grafters and Goo Goos: Corruption and Reform in Chicago, 1833-2003 Overview

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American Pharaoh: Mayor Richard J. Daley - His Battle for Chicago and the Nation Review

American Pharaoh: Mayor Richard J. Daley - His Battle for Chicago and the Nation
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American Pharaoh: Mayor Richard J. Daley - His Battle for Chicago and the Nation ReviewCohen and Taylor have written both a masterful piece of investigative journalism and a captivating political biography. In many ways, this book should be required reading for anyone doing college or graduate level research in the fields of American urban or domestic political science or history. Almost like Finley Peter Dunne's MISTER DOOLEY--which it often quotes--this volume takes you inside the Chicago Democratic machine and shows just how omnipotent the organization was during Daley's tenure at the helm, not without an occasional touch of humor and irony. As its subtitle promises, the book also places Daley and his machine in the context of national (and Illionis) politics, over which they had such enormous influence, especially during the late 1950s and all through the 1960s.
The authors paint a portrait of Daley that shows his enormous personal complexity--a devout Catholic and loyal family man who did not hesitate to engage in the most bare-fisted power politics or work to capitalize on the basest human instincts. While I tend to agree with other reviewers that the book focusses a bit heavily on racial matters during the Daley mayoralty, they played a major role during this period and Daley's attempt to balance the competing interests of white ethnics and black citizens ultimately undermined the absolute authority of the Chicago Democratic machine. I disagree with reviewers who say that the authors were too anti-Daley; I feel they made an honest effort to credit him for the considerable accomplishments of his tenure--including the preservation of Downtown Chicago as a going concern when so many other rust belt cities in the Midwest and Great Lakes area were going under (e.g., Detroit, St. Louis, Cleveland, Buffalo, and Pittsburgh). They make clear, however, the enormous price that was paid for his accomplishments, including the subversion of democracy and the exacerbation of racial tensions in Chicago.American Pharaoh: Mayor Richard J. Daley - His Battle for Chicago and the Nation Overview

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