Paul L. Posner

Recent Articles

• The Best of Times, the Worst of Times
• Oct 20, 2010
• The public turns to government to solve all manner of private troubles, yet is perennially disenchanted with government.

• Wanted: A State and Local Voice
• Aug 4, 2010
• One could argue that state and local governments are the proverbial canary in the coal mine, the first to deal with a flood of fiscal sacrifices that eventually wash across the beltway.

• The Missing Commissioners
• Aug 4, 2010
• State and local government officials should also sit on the president's new deficit reduction commission.
• 1 Comments

• The Deficit Inferno
• Jun 9, 2010
• For governments facing fiscal gaps, these five stages outline an official's journey to acceptance and finally, action.
• 1 Comments

• The 5 Stages Before Deficit Reduction
• Jun 9, 2010
• For governments facing fiscal gaps, these stages outline one's journey to action.

• Braving Twin Deficits
• Mar 31, 2010
• State and local leaders face a severe challenge in dealing with the short-term recession while at the same time planning for future fiscal burdens.

• State Laboratories and National Policy Reforms
• Jan 20, 2010
• More often than not, the federal government punishes rather than rewards states for innovative solutions to national problems.
• 1 Comments

• The Next Federal Grant System
• Sep 23, 2009
• The stimulus law's transparency requirements won't shed much light on the achievement of objectives.
• 3 Comments

• The Stimulus Next Time
• May 13, 2009
• The assistance from Washington is full of compromises that undercut its effectiveness. There is a better way.

• The Stimulus Hot Seat
• Feb 25, 2009
• As the money flows from Washington, state and local government managers need to be proactive about accountability.

• The Crisis Next Time
• Oct 22, 2008
• We pay a high price when we depend upon a crisis to catalyze action to solve major problems.
• 1 Comments

• Seductive Reforms
• Jul 9, 2008
• Why management initiatives need to be saved from their own excessive promises.

• Can't Ideology and Policy Expertise Just Get Along?
• Mar 26, 2008
• Policymakers are more polarized and driven by ideology than ever before, writes Paul L. Posner.

• The Agenda Explosion and Public Management
• Dec 5, 2007
• Leaders at all levels of government should think twice before assuming government can solve a particular problem, writes Paul L. Posner.

• Coming to Grips with Fiscal Realities
• Aug 15, 2007
• Financial pressures demand transformation but transformative government demands broad authority -- something federal policies make difficult.