Category Archives: Public Policy

Fulfilling America’s Promise: Build Equity, Bridge the Gap

The TakeAway: As we celebrate Independence Day, it’s time to rededicate ourselves to those very ideals on which our nation was founded: liberty, opportunity, and justice for all. That means bridging the equity gap that undermines the American dream and … Continue reading

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Mesh Networks, Leadership, and Democracy’s Promise

  The TakeAway: This election season and Veterans Day provide a great time to reflect on the state of our democracy, which is ailing badly. It’s also time to think about ways of healing it, while achieving sustainable peace and … Continue reading

Posted in Civic Technology, Data Visualization, Ethics and Values, Interactive Technology, Net Neutrality, Networked Citizenship, Notable People, Open Government, Open Knowledge, Politics, Public Policy, Stakeholder Engagement, Sustainable Cities, Sustainable Peace and Prosperity, Uncategorized, Web 2.0 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Mesh Networks, Leadership, and Democracy’s Promise

Smart Cities and Sustainable Development: Where Hope and History Meet

The Question: “How can cities contribute to the advancement of sustainable development and address issues including water, energy and waste?” The task of the coming city is not essentially different:  its mission is to put the highest concerns of man … Continue reading

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2013 Memorable Moments and Values

Part 1 of 3 The TakeAway: It was a year of breakthroughs, tempered by loss. But as we look back on 2013, four memorable moments stand out. I’ve a personal connection to each, but they embody universal values worth amplifying … Continue reading

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To Bomb or Not to Bomb—Which Rationality? Whose Debate?

The TakeAway: The swirl of action surrounding whether or not to intervene militarily in Syria tends to overlook opportunities, beyond polling, for average people to weigh in. That’s bad for deliberative democracy—especially when military power is involved. As a “prismatic … Continue reading

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The Power of Two, Plus You! OpenLetter2013

The Takeaway: Two friends from Boston, increasingly alarmed by the dearth of meaningful action on climate change, decided to take matters into their own hands. The pair are crowdfunding a full-page ad in The Wall Street Journal calling out the … Continue reading

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Civic Virtue as the Animating Ideal

Fourth in a Series: Time to Talk About the Public Interest The TakeAway: Despite the great strides made toward incorporating environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations into economic decision making, these ideas are untethered from a moral paradigm or ethos … Continue reading

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Back to the Future: Apocalypse Now

Image made by Mary Naber King Third in a Series: Time to Talk About the Public Interest The TakeAway: In a society saturated with market values, we need to recoup the idea of civic virtue, and the civic moral obligations … Continue reading

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Loose Canons and Apocalypse Now: Unveiling the Ethics in the Fiduciary Ethic

Second in a Series: Time to Talk About the Public Interest The TakeAway: This essay posits that the idea of fiduciary duty, with its legal and economic constructs, rests upon on a foundation spanning centuries of insights and wisdom about … Continue reading

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Time to Talk About the Public Interest

The TakeAway: Current global activity about “materiality” and “multiple capitals” seek to embed environmental, social, and governance considerations within corporate and investor commitments to accountability and sustainability. But they’re the latest iteration of an ancient ethic waiting to be reborn. … Continue reading

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Gift Xchange: Giving, Investing, and Grantmaking for Good

Part One of Two The TakeAway: Charitable requests are a constant, but the end of the year brings a blizzard of appeals. In addition to our donor dollars, there’s a vast amount of untapped money power held by nonprofit institutions, … Continue reading

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Ready For Their Close-Up: Corporate Secretaries and “The Shape of Things to Come”

Part One of Three The TakeAway: The recent annual conference of the Society of Corporate Secretaries and Governance Professionals focused on “The Shape of Things to Come”—that is, key issues and trends affecting corporate accountability and sustainable prosperity. In so … Continue reading

Posted in Corporate Governance, Corporate Political Activity, Corporate Reporting, Corporate Sustainability, Ethics and Values, Interactive Technology, Politics, Proxy Voting, Public Policy, Stakeholder Engagement | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Diamonds and Rust: The Need for Ethical Climate Change in Banking

The takeaway: The British  scandal over interest-rate rigging underscores the need for ethical climate change in banking. In addition to regulatory and policy changes, doing this involves the combined efforts of CEOs, boards of directors, investors, depositors, and other stakeholders … Continue reading

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“Just Keep Your Knees Together” – Democracy’s Disconnect

Guest Commentary by Rosalie Hudnut Wright, Occasional Contributor, The Murninghan Post The Takeaway: To inaugurate MurnPost’s “Voices of Baby Boomers” section, Rosalie Hudnut Wright writes about the “disconnect” in our Presidential primary campaign between women’s well-being and social and economic sustainability. … Continue reading

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A Valentine’s Bouquet: Twelve for 2012

The TakeAway: The blooms of sustainable prosperity and justice are fed by at least twelve currents that will get stronger throughout 2012. They involve the maturation of corporate social responsibility and corporate governance; rethinking the meaning of “fiduciary”; balancing internationalism … Continue reading

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Justice for All: Climate Change and the Energy Economy

The TakeAway: It’s time for us to reach across social and cultural divides to kickstart our economy and advance the cause of justice. One way of doing that is to address fear and mistrust head-on, and then work together to … Continue reading

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Getting Off the Couch

The TakeAway: Last year we became conscious of the breakdown in public trust and its civic moral and economic consequences—and what average people can do to make a difference. This year more of us will get off the couch and … Continue reading

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Song of Sorrow or Call to Arms? Four Stratagems to Improve Our Politics

The TakeAway: While extremist politics dominate Washington, financial markets continue to seize, and US credit-worthiness takes a beating, advocates of sustainability and good governance need to stop moping and get off the bench. Here are four stratagems to reverse the … Continue reading

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The Sustainability Ratings Industrial Complex: Breaking the Hold

The TakeAway: The recent launch of the Global Initiative for Sustainability Ratings seeks to bring some order, quality, and accountability to the diverse and booming growth industry of sustainability ratings and rankings—also a topic of the online “SustyChat3” among experts, … Continue reading

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Human Rights: A Moral and Material Business Concern

The TakeAway: Several sustainability milestones were reached in June, but the greatest of these was the UN Human Rights Council endorsement of the Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights, which established human rights as both a moral and material … Continue reading

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Smart Power, Adaptive Leadership, and Human Rights

Part One of Two The TakeAway: Advocates for corporate responsibility need to address the wider context of global politics and power, particularly within conflict zones where human rights abuses are most pronounced. So we got Osama bin Laden. Now what? … Continue reading

Posted in Human Rights, Public Policy | 2 Comments

Dumb Math and Regulatory Wipeout

The TakeAway: House Republicans efforts to reduce the deficit will gut regulation of financial markets and put the nation at risk, so it’s time for investors and the public to fight back. You’d think that by now, as we try … Continue reading

Posted in Climate Change, Corporate Governance, Politics, Public Policy | 2 Comments

Freedom Bytes

The TakeAway: President Obama and Mideast protesters relied on digital technologies to change regimes, but beyond campaigns, how can they be used to build sustainable prosperity and justice? On Wednesday the contrast was stark, as democracy’s rituals – revolution and … Continue reading

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Corporate Oligarchs, Politics, and the Common Good

The TakeAway: Among other events, this week’s anniversaries of JFK’s inaugural speech and Citizens United call us to fight to elevate conscience over politics and capitalism. This week juxtaposed statesman service and corporate dominion at a time when oligarchs increasingly … Continue reading

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Bob Massie for U.S. Senate

The TakeAway: Our friend and colleague Bob Massie announced his candidacy today to represent Massachusetts in the U.S. Senate—an extension of his lifetime commitment to service. Bob Massie, co-founder of The Murninghan Post and publisher emeritus, today announced his candidacy … Continue reading

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Tone at the Top: Rebooting Democracy’s Dialogue

The TakeAway: We must hold lawmakers accountable to high standards of statecraft, just as we hold ourselves accountable when engaging on ‘hot button’ issues such as corporate accountability, sustainability, and human rights. It was a high-minded day.  Following a Native … Continue reading

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Dead Hands and Invisible Hands

The TakeAway: The 112th Congress, mindful of the values that underlie the whole Constitution, needs to face up to its responsibility to make policies that advance the common good and a sustainable future. This morning, for the first time ever … Continue reading

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Who’s Friending Whom?

The TakeAway: News of Goldman Sachs’ $50 billion valuation and private offering of Facebook underscores the need to rally social media to promote corporate sustainability and accountability. The biggest business story of the New Year broke in the wee hours of … Continue reading

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Climate Change-Makers

The TakeAway: While Federal climate change policy action sputters, state and local initiatives continue to offer opportunities for progress and engagement. Climate change has triggered long-standing power struggles in the US between federal and state rights reminiscent of Civil Rights … Continue reading

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Controversial Compromise on Net Neutrality

The TakeAway: The FCC’s decision on “net neutrality” creates a double set of rules applying to fixed broadband and mobile broadband—with the public interest standard in question. The near decade-long struggle over “net neutrality” revolves around money, power, and access … Continue reading

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