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Latest Blog Posts

• A Competition for Ideas in Public Policy
• Posted By: Mark Funkhouser |   March 29, 2012
• An event coming up in Philadelphia promises to go a long way toward matching the challenges government faces with ideas coming out of some of the top schools of public policy.
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• The Incalculable Things that Define Us
• Posted By: Mark Funkhouser |   March 26, 2012
• As we try to measure everything that moves, we need to remember that some of the most important things about us can’t be measured.
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• Our Misguided Love Affair with Political Consensus
• Posted By: Mark Funkhouser |   March 22, 2012
• It’s the polarizers, not the consensus-seekers, who get the big things done.
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• 2 Comments

• The Numbers that Tell the Real Story
• Posted By: Mark Funkhouser |   March 19, 2012
• We rely too much on aggregate data about our cities and states. It’s the differences among the numbers that are truly important.
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• The Inherent Tensions of Regulation
• Posted By: Mark Funkhouser |   March 15, 2012
• None of us are angels. Government regulatory and inspection programs are a crucial way of making up for that.
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• Bridges and the Inexorable Laws of Physics
• Posted By: Mark Funkhouser |   March 12, 2012
• Structurally deficient bridges will fall. The only question is when. We need to be thinking about risks like those, and about what to do about them.
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• 4 Comments

• Collaboration and the Outcomes We Need
• Posted By: Mark Funkhouser |   March 8, 2012
• Competition in government service delivery is powerful, but it isn’t sufficient. The best leaders are recognizing that.
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• 4 Comments

• How Not to Protect Kids from Sexual Assault
• Posted By: Mark Funkhouser |   March 5, 2012
• Only a few states have complied with a federal law requiring sex-offender registration and notification. The rest have good reasons for holding out.
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• 8 Comments

• Getting the Fiscal Fundamentals Wrong
• Posted By: Mark Funkhouser |   February 29, 2012
• Stockton’s fiscal meltdown isn't the result of a dumb idea or corruption. That's why it’s particularly scary.
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• 1 Comments

• The Once and Future City
• Posted By: Mark Funkhouser |   December 23, 2011
• The head of the Governing Institute found a couple of surprises when he looked at population trends in a number of U.S. cities. Populations in big and small cities are bouncing back.
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