America’s infrastructure problem is truly serious and perhaps more dire than Obama let on in his State of the Union address earlier this week. What’s worse, is that for all the talk of Sputnik moments and restoring America’s competitiveness, I didn’t hear much about the kind of infrastructure investments that could really boost America’s innovation potential. Sure, Obama talked about building a network of high-speed commuter trains. But that’s in the “nice-to-have” rather than the [...]

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As one watches the events unfold in Cairo, it’s impossible not to feel sympathy for the Egyptian citizens who want, more than anything, to share the values of freedom and openness, but must risk life and limb to do so. For me, freedom is the most important human aspiration. No one should be denied the right to determine their own destiny, to be free of oppression or to enjoy bedrock liberties like the right to [...]

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In my previous post I discussed why the Obama administration is right to make renewing America’s regulatory system a priority. We already have a situation where citizens armed with information are drawing attention to many important fissures in the global economy that threaten to undermine global peace and stability, issues such as climate change, food security, water scarcity, and corruption. They are increasingly willing and able to contribute to solving these issues, and they are [...]

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Earlier this week Obama issued a call to renew America’s regulatory system and not a moment too soon. A string of events over the past couple of years have underscored just how strained and ineffectual the current systems of regulation have become. The FDA’s own Science Board concluded in 2007, for example, that the agency did not have the capacity to ensure a safe food supply, with domestic businesses under its purview having risen to [...]

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