Holding city council meetings downtown during weekday business hours makes them inaccessible to too many residents. To open up civic participation, local governments should rethink their scheduling and make the most of electronic tools.
What’s happened in Wyoming illustrates how closed primary elections shut too many voters out of the electoral process, intensify political polarization and raise important questions about funding these elections.
Federal funding is a bigger share of state budgets than ever. It comes with too many strings and strictures that choke off efficiency and innovation, and it threatens democratic self-governance.
Economists hate it, but imposed in moderation it isn’t automatically ruinous. Meat-ax approaches like Zohran Mamdani’s in New York City might appeal to the voters, but they risk doing more harm than good.
The life of the former Atlanta mayor, congressman and U.N. ambassador hasn’t been without its contradictions, but today’s leaders can learn a lot from his decades of courageous leadership.
More industries are showing interest in this age-old pathway to well-paying, high-demand jobs. States have a role to play in accelerating its expansion.
Taxpayers must be protected from unchecked growth in local government spending. Statewide limits on tax increases would do that while forcing local governments to live within their means.
Modern multifamily buildings are far safer than those built long ago. It’s another reason for policymakers to remove regulatory barriers to constructing them.
Americans have always feared crowding and congestion, blaming the anonymity of the city for a decline in community feeling. But cities’ energy and vitality continue to pull people toward urban life.
Governments are paying out billions to settle thousands of claims. There is no substitute for justice, but keeping the abuse from happening in the first place would be far more cost-effective.
As the technology transforms service delivery, it’s essential to balance innovation, risk and public trust.
Not much for now, with next year’s insurance premiums jumping far more than general inflation and tax revenues. Employers’ only hope to begin stemming these costs long term is a stronger, unified front at the state and national levels. There also could be an important role for public pensions.
The new federal rules will stress-test our systems. It’s a chance to stop rewarding routine over improvement.
States and localities rely on the regularity and reliability of federal data. Disrupting it undermines everything from pensions to budgets and threatens public trust in government.
People get the kind of politics they demand, if not what they deserve.
Trillions of dollars of wealth, much of it in homes and other property, will be moving from baby boomers to millennials. Local governments should begin preparing for dealing with that generation’s values.
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