The Declaration of Independence and the Public Interest

Public Policy Is About Doing Good

Declaration of Independence is the mission statement for our public policy in America and the rest of the world.

Three Values of the Declaration of Independence

Life Health and Personal Safety

LibertySpeech and Choice

Pursuit of Happiness Economic Opportunity Clean Environment

In your opening paragraph you use the phrase “the Laws of Nature and Nature’s God.” What are these laws? In what way are they the criteria on which you base your central arguments?

If they are as evident as you claim, then it should not be difficult for you to locate appropriate statistics.

I hope this critique will assist you in preparing a declaration that may receive serious consideration for the crown.

In the same paragraph, you refer to the “opinions of mankind.” Whose polling data are you using?

Declaration on Independence

Rhetoric Versus Analysis

BS detector Good analysis consists of:

DataClear languageContinuous questioning

Let’s Look At the Problem of Poverty

Usually viewed as cause between the rich and the poor

Poverty is Not Inequality

Poverty is a condition where people live below a standard we can set if only we can agree.Inequality is a condition where the gap between those below and above the standard is significant.Let’s look at that gap.

Distribution of Income in U.S.

Aggregate vs. Distribution

Measure of Entire Measure of Entire SocietySociety

vs.

Measure of Measure of Distribution Among Distribution Among Groups in SocietyGroups in Society

Grading the U.S.Goal Aggregate Distributio

nCombined

Personal Safety

Health

Free Speech

Free Choice

Economic Opportunity

Clean Environment

The Inequality Question

How Bad Is It? • Control for subsidies to poor and hours work and

the gap is reduced to 4 to 1 instead of 15 to 1.• Merit trumps the masses

Who’s At Fault?• The system• The individual

Nevertheless, poverty generates societal problems and it threatens the mission set for us in the Declaration of Independence

Poverty

Capitalism is based on competition where merit is more highly valued that equalityPoverty is a necessary by-product and a major cause of societal problemsLimiting the degree of poverty and its impact is a primary goal of public policy

Why We Fall Short of the Goals of the Declaration of Independence

Foolish Freedom The pursuit of freedom as an end in

itself threaten the public interest.

Examples of Foolish Freedom

Substance abusersTalkers on car phones while drivingPeople who refuse to workCriminals of all kindsBusiness leaders who care only about the bottom lineExtremists whose ends justify the meansPoliticians who can’t control their urge to win at all costs.

Foolish Freedom and Poverty

Middle and upper class don’t want to shareLower class must take advantage of opportunities

What Good Public Policy Requires

Enlightened Self-Interest

More people acting in the public interest

Solid information and analysis