This article was originally published in our The Public Good: Reports from the Front Lines (September 27, 2017), available here. In the beginning there were no fixed prices. Every transaction involved a negotiation between buyer and seller. Then, in 1861, as Guardian reporter Tim Adams informs us, Philadelphia retailer John Wanamaker introduced price tags along with the slogan, “If everyone … Read More
This article was originally published in our The Public Good: Reports from the Front Lines (September 27, 2017), available here. In the 1980s, leveraged buyouts became financial engineering’s newest invention. Corporate raiders would use the assets of the target corporation to collateralize the debt required to take it over. The resulting large debt payments burdened the … Read More
ILSR’s insight on recent news stories that have to do with the public good. In this round-up: Dynamic pricing is a thoroughly modern way to fleece the customer; How community land trusts protect communities from gentrification; Punishing corporate criminals; and more.… Read More
ILSR’s insight on recent news stories that have to do with the public good. In this round-up: Germany’s public banks; The story behind the effort to “repatriate” U.S. overseas profits; The remunicipalization movement grows; How Philadelphiais expanding the civic commons; and more.… Read More
A selection of recent news stories with an ILSR insight into “The Public Good.” Separate and Unequal, Again In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a 58 year-old decision upholding the right of states to have segregated school systems. “Separate but equal” it ruled, was inherently unequal. Sixty-three years later de jure segregation is illegal, but de … Read More
Combatting defeatism may be our single most important psychological objective in the wake of the election. We need to revive the spirit embodied in Barack Obama’s vague but hopeful campaign slogan in 2008, “Yes We Can.” At the federal level this is a time to expose, to educate and to resist. But at the state and local level we can act proactively to fashion strategies that both embrace progressive values and directly benefit those who mistakenly voted for Donald Trump as an economic savior. This is the first in a series of pieces focusing on what can be done.… Read More
A selection of recent news stories with an ILSR insight into “The Public Good.” Stories in this Newsfeed: High Stakes Testing Debunked | Do Unions Aid Student Achievement? | Inequality and Upward Mobility | Do Prisons Reduce Crime? | Uber Unmasked High Stakes Testing: Destructive and Ineffective Student scores on standardized tests have become a key factor, possibly the key factor … Read More
A selection of recent news stories with an ILSR insight into “The Public Good.” Stories in this Newsfeed: The Privatization of Everything | Privatizing Education | Privatizing the Oceans Privatizing Municipal Services | A Resource Guide to Privatization The outcome of the Presidential election will make the word “privatization” will become central to our political conversations. We should be … Read More
On November 8th citizens in 35 states vote on 163 ballot initiatives. They cover a wide range of subjects (e.g. marijuana, minimum wage, taxes, gun control). To my mind, initiatives in three states—California on reducing drug prices, South Dakota on revamping its political system, and New Mexico on the inequitable use of bail– stand out as having … Read More
