How Not to Screw Up Your Government’s Stimulus Windfall by Mark Funkhouser As state and local governments celebrate the latest federal stimulus package, I’m struck by what I heard recently…
A Secret Weapon in the Fight for Equity by Mark Funkhouser If you’re looking for ways to improve social equity and racial justice in your community, you may find support…
3 Ways to Restore Your Residents’ Faith in Government by Mark Funkhouser If you work in local government, you’re facing a responsibility you never signed up for: Today, you’re the…
How Local Gov Should Engage with Gen Z by Mark Funkhouser In the 1990s, political scientist Robert Putnam documented a worrisome trend: Fewer Americans were members of groups that formed the…
How Tax Abatements Contribute to Systemic Racism by Mark Funkhouser I have long argued against the use of tax incentives, including tax increment financing (TIF), in which future property tax revenues are…
Cities New Unanimity: The Need for Police Reform By Mark Funkhouser One of the most surprising aspects of the last few months is how much city leaders, regardless of size…
The Role of Auditors in Combatting Racism By Mark Funkhouser “Government auditors are critical to ensuring that our police and law enforcement agencies are effectively and equitably serving and protecting…
Let My People Go! Letting a City Control its Own Destiny “The more you allow localities to control their destiny, the better they do.” That’s Mike Pagano, quoted in Neil Kleiman’s…
We May See What Collective Rage Looks Like “Just as we come out of our holes and see what 25 percent unemployment looks like, we may also see what collective…
“If we can do a bit better tomorrow, we will be doing much, much better than we have ever done before.” That’s the last sentence in Why We’re Polarized, Ezra Klein’s clear-eyed analysis of the political situation in America today.