‘Public Policy’ Articles at Mount Virtus

7/11/2017 By Brooke Faulkner Leave a Comment

The Role of Big Data in Public Policy

We live in an age where data about who you are, where you are, and what you’re doing is being collected and tucked away into databases so large, traditional processing software is inadequate to handle it all. This is the age of big data, a powerful and rich resource that continues to grow more quickly than we are able to find ways to make use of it. Our lives are being tallied and measured by posts, emails, purchases, pictures, and clicks. Public policy is shaped by our values and ideals, and we express many of those through the things we do. As such, used responsibly, the data we recorded about the things we do can help guide public policy decisions. Big data has the power to transform the public sector and is frequently cited as a … [Read more...]

6/4/2009 By Ben 1 Comment

Kudos to Bill Ritter for SB 180 Veto: Good Public Policy Beats Out Politics

It's not often I laud Colorado Governor Bill Ritter, but he is to be commended today for choosing good public policy over political pressures by vetoing Senate Bill 180 -- the firefighter collective bargaining legislation. While Ritter's official statement put the matter more diplomatically than I have, he didn't buy the phony argument about firefighter safety:Third, the debate on this bill raised important issues about firefighter safety, but there are better ways to address these issues than mandatory collective bargaining in certain communities. We must address firefighter safety at the state level. Doing so ensures that all areas of Colorado can benefit. Under this bill, however, the safety issues would only be addressed in the … [Read more...]

5/15/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Will Bill Ritter Really Pursue “Best Public Policy” and Veto Big Labor Bills?

So Colorado Governor Bill Ritter has a couple tough decisions to make. That could pose a problem. This morning the Denver Post's John Ingold follows up on the political challenges posed to Ritter from the legislature placing Big Labor bills Senate Bill 180 and House Bill 1170 on his desk. The Governor sure is talking a good game:"This is not a zero-sum game," Ritter said. "The way I approach this is not based upon this notion that somebody wins, somebody loses. The way I approach this is 'What is the best public policy for us?' " In that case, from the standpoint of "best public policy", vetoing the costly and intrusive SB 180 is a no-brainer -- for all the reasons I've previously explained. HB 1170 is problematic for its own reasons, … [Read more...]