Episodes

  • 18 | Improving Federal Government Performance with Jim Perry and Les Lenkowsky

    18 | Improving Federal Government Performance with Jim Perry and Les Lenkowsky
    Dec 17 2024
    On Aug. 12, 1986, then-president Ronald Reagan, held a press conference in the Rosemont Ballroom of the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Chicago, the 38th of his presidency. Before taking questions, President Reagan said he wanted to send a special message to America’s farmers, namely that he had a goal to remove what he believed were some regulatory barriers that were holding back the farmer’s prosperity.

    He phrased that viewpoint simply. “I've always felt the nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the Government, and I'm here to help,” Reagan said.

    And with that phrase, President Reagan encapsulated the feelings of millions of Americans. Nearly 40 years later, the issue of the effectiveness of the United States government to be a positive influence on the country remains at the forefront of our political discourse. Americans are distrustful of the government and have deep questions about the role it should play in their lives.

    Seeking some answers to the issue is the impetus behind the upcoming Evidence-Based Solutions for Improving Federal Government Performance Conference, which will be held at the National Academy of Public Administration in Washington, D.C., Jan. 13. This one-day conference will feature a panel of distinguished experts, including Kevin Kosar from the American Enterprise Institute; Amy Holmes from the Bloomberg Center for Government Excellence; Peter Warren, senior advisor to James Comer, who is the incoming Chairman of the House Oversight Committee; Jennifer Mattingley of the Partnership for Public Service; and Renata Lemos from the World Bank. Phillip Howard, chair of Common Good, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization which advocates simplifying government, will provide the keynote address. They will address the critical question: What can be done to improve federal government performance?

    We’re joined today by two of the organizers of the event, Professor Emeritus in Public Affairs and Philanthropic Studies Leslie Lenkowsky and Distinguished Professor Emeritus and Chancellor's Professor of Public and Environmental Affairs Emeritus Jim Perry. Professor Lenkowsky is an expert in volunteering and civic engagement, nonprofits and public policy, civil society in comparative perspective, education and social welfare policy, and social entrepreneurship. He was a founding director of the Corporation for National and Community Service during the Clinton Administration, and he was appointed by President George W. Bush as the CEO of the corporation in 2001.

    Professor Perry is an internationally recognized leader in public administration and the study of public management. His 45 years of scholarship includes expertise in public management, public organizational behavior, government and civil service reform, national and community service, public service motivation, and performance-related pay.
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    25 mins
  • 17 | Community organizations and combatting social isolation with Brad Fulton

    17 | Community organizations and combatting social isolation with Brad Fulton
    Nov 19 2024
    For the past several years, researchers, including the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, have warned of the growing issue of social isolation, a growing loneliness epidemic, and the impact it is having on the physical and mental health of people not only in the United States but around the world.

    The Surgeon General reported that social isolation increases the risk of premature death by 29 percent, the equivalent of smoking 15 cigarettes a day. It also increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, dementia, and other serious medical conditions.

    That’s the bad news. The good news is the solution to social isolation, and the loneliness that can accompany it, may already exist in the form of community organizations that once formed the bedrock of community involvement and can play a major, if evolving, role.

    We’re joined by Associate Professor Brad Fulton, an expert on the social, political, and economic impact of community-based organizations. He directs the National Study of Community Organizing—a multi-level study that examines the causes and consequences of racial, socioeconomic, and religious diversity within grassroots advocacy organizations. Fulton also co-leads the Observing Civic Engagement project—a field study that uses an innovative data collection technique, known as systematic social observation, to analyze the internal dynamics of organizations.
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    21 mins
  • 16 | The Changing Reality for Charitable Disaster Relief Organizations with Beth Gazley

    16 | The Changing Reality for Charitable Disaster Relief Organizations with Beth Gazley
    Oct 14 2024
    When Hurricane Helene roared across Florida and up the East Coast in late September, relief efforts began immediately. People were without power, water, food, medical supplies and a host of other basic needs.

    The Federal Emergency Management Agency exists for these types of situations, but it’s also when nonprofit organizations spring into action. From high-profile organizations such as the American Red Cross and the United Way to smaller, local organizations, nonprofits play a huge role in the recovery effort. The work is difficult and expensive, and the physical and mental energy required quickly takes its toll on volunteers.

    Then, of course, just a couple of weeks later, Hurricane Milton struck Florida, stacking disasters and impacting nonprofits that were already stretched by Helene.

    To find out the kind of impact these stacked disasters may have on nonprofit organizations helping with relief efforts and the challenges that will be faced not only in the present but in the future, we’re joined by Professor Beth Gazley, who is a world-renowned expert in U.S. nonprofit management and civil society policy. She has published more than 85 research articles, books, and commentary addressing intersectoral collaboration, volunteerism, nonprofit governance, public service coproduction, association management, disaster response, and other topics.

    All opinions and comments on O’Neill Speaks belong to the host and guest of the O’Neill School and don’t necessarily reflect those of the school itself. Music for O’Neill Speaks is by Manos Mars.
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    20 mins
  • 15 | The Challenge of Tax Reform with Justin Ross

    15 | The Challenge of Tax Reform with Justin Ross
    Jul 31 2024
    Back in 2017, the United States congress passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which featured several significant changes to the individual income tax, including reforms to itemized deductions and the alternative minimum tax, an expanded standard deduction and child tax credit, and lower marginal tax rates across brackets.

    Proponents hailed the measure as a much-needed reform that would generate economic growth, expand wages, and put the country on the path to fiscal responsibility. Critics said it was a giveaway to corporations and the wealthy that would only balloon the national debt, and a recent study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research suggests that there was a boost in investment in the U.S. economy and some wage growth, but not nearly as much as was promised.

    What can’t be argued is that several provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act were designed to sunset in 2025, and there is considerable debate about what provisions should be extended on a more permanent basis and which parts of the act should be allowed expire on schedule.

    We're joined by Professor Justin Ross to help us try to sort through the noise when it comes to tax reform. Justin is a public finance economist specializing in state and local tax policy, and his primary research interests include property tax-related issues such as assessment and zoning. He is part of tax reform task forces in multiple states and is an expert in how tax policy has an impact in the real world.
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    26 mins
  • 14 | Overcoming the Hurdles of EVs with John Graham

    14 | Overcoming the Hurdles of EVs with John Graham
    Jul 24 2024
    In the effort to combat climate change, a move away from fossil fuels, particularly when it comes to the way get around, is seen as one of the critical steps to making progress.

    Electric vehicles, or EVs, in particular are seen as the next step in the evolution away from fossil fuels. The idea of an electric vehicle isn’t new—the idea is nearly 200 years old, and the first mass-produced EVs were built in the early 1900s. But only in the past two decades has the effort to transition from gas to electric vehicles gathered momentum. And the effort has come with hurdles. Battery capacity can limit range, there are environmental concerns to be addressed, and simply getting people to accept a different model of vehicle is a challenge.

    Recently, President Joe Biden and the Environmental Protection Agency finalized regulations that have created the United States’ toughest limits on passenger car and light truck emissions ever. The regulations are designed to accelerate the transition to EVs, even if automakers won’t need to dramatically boost EVs sales until after 2030.

    Meanwhile, Emissions Analytics, a United Kingdom-based company that compiles large databases of independent test data to give market insights and delivers unbiased test results on real-world product performance, recently released a report showing that, due to the weight of EVs, tire wear emissions are 1,850 times greater than tailpipe particulate emissions from gas cars.
    In other words, EVs may have lower particulate emissions when it comes to fuel emissions, but it could have a larger impact in other ways.

    Finding a way to balance the pros with the cons—and, more importantly, convincing reluctant consumers to make the transition to EVs—is part of challenge of adopting a different technology that is so embedded in our culture.

    We’re joined today by Professor John Graham, who has long been focused on risk analysis. He is the former Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in the federal Office of Management and Budget during the George W. Bush administration. Professor Graham also served as Dean of the O’Neill School from 2008-2019, and he has remained as a faculty member with a keen interest in electric vehicles.

    O’Neill Speaks is the official podcast of the Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. All opinions and comments on O’Neill Speaks belong to the host and guest of the O’Neill School and don’t necessarily reflect those of the school itself. Music for O’Neill Speaks is by Manos Mars.
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    20 mins
  • 13 | Environmental Management: Concepts and Practical Skills w/Marc Lame

    13 | Environmental Management: Concepts and Practical Skills w/Marc Lame
    Mar 21 2024
    It’s difficult to take a glance at the news and not be inundated with stories about climate change, environmental disasters, and the legal controversies that surround anything having to do with the environment. The push and pull of policy makers and lobbyists and courts grab the headlines and are seemingly constant source of discussion, but often overlooked is the role of the people responsible for implementing any policy that might be presented.

    Environmental managers are the boots on the ground in local communities. An environmental manager plays a crucial role in an organization's efforts to reduce its negative impact on the environment, maintain regulatory compliance, and avoid unnecessary environmental liabilities. They are responsible for implementing policies and advocating for change at the intersection of humans and the environment, and their work is essential in tackling environmental problems and communicating with people across the globe to find solutions. But those skills don’t develop in a vacuum. They have to be learned, and in our ever-changing, often-contentious world, education about how to become a competent environmental manager has never been more important.

    We’re joined today by Clinical Associate Professor Emeritus Marc Lame, who spent three decades as a faculty member at the O’Neill School, including teaching courses in environmental management. He’s also the co-author, along with Richard Marcantonio, of Environmental Management: Concepts and Practical skills. The book is a contemporary textbook and manual for aspiring or new environmental managers that provides the theory and practical examples needed to understand current environmental issues and trends. It focuses on environmental management through the lens of protecting public health and protecting the environment.
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    20 mins
  • 12 | Protecting Indiana Wetlands with Christopher Craft

    12 | Protecting Indiana Wetlands with Christopher Craft
    Mar 7 2024
    In May 2023, the United States Supreme Court handed down a ruling that limited the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to protect millions of acres of wetlands from pollution by saying that the EPS could not regulate discharges into wetlands unless they have a continuous surface connection to larger bodies of water. Then, just a few weeks ago, the Indiana State house passed and Governor Eric Holcomb signed House Enrolled Act 1383, which redefined some protected wetlands, limiting their protection.

    Indiana’s wetlands are grouped into three tiers by the state. Class III wetlands, the highest tier, receive full protections. Class II wetlands have fewer protections, and Class I has none. Those standards were put in place in 2022, and the latest law will redefine select Class III wetlands as Class II. Wetlands are often overlooked by the general public but play a critical role in nature. Wetlands—aquatic environments that are covered by freshwater, saltwater, or a mix—are the planet’s natural waste-water treatment facilities and carbon-storing champions. They soak up excess nutrients in soil, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, which are normally found in fertilizer and can leach from farmland, and wetlands catch and hold excess stormwater, reducing flooding on that landscape. Developers are lauding the latest bill as a boon to construction, but environmental advocates are angry about the loss of the protections.

    To learn more about this issue, we’re thrilled to welcome Janet Duey Professor of Rural Land Policy Chistopher Craft. Professor Craft is a professional wetland scientist, and has studied the effects of climate change, eutrophication, and other human activities on estuarine and freshwater wetlands and the restoration of those ecosystems. In 2012, he received the National Wetlands Award for Science Research. Craft has been a visiting professor with senior international scientists of the Chinese Academy of Sciences since 2010.
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    20 mins
  • 11 | School-based Law Enforcement Data with Amanda Rutherford

    11 | School-based Law Enforcement Data with Amanda Rutherford
    Dec 12 2023
    There was a time not so long ago during which the phrase “school-based law enforcement” personnel wasn’t part of our lexicon.

    Then came the shootings at Columbine High School in Colorado in 1999, which marked a turning point in the expansion of campus policing. Federal support was key in the expansion of the strategy, and between 1999 and 2005, the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services within the U.S. Department of Justice awarded over $750 million to schools to hire approximately 6,500 school resource officers. By 2019, this funding totaled nearly $1 billion.

    The professionalization, training, and visibility of SBLE personnel vary widely across states and often across school districts within individual states. To shed some light on how school-based law enforcement officials define their priorities, spend their time and interact with stakeholder groups, Associate Professor Amanda Rutherford and colleagues Nya Anthony and Lillian Rogers conducted a study to build a national profile on SBLEs.

    We’re joined today by Professor Rutherford, the lead author of the study. Amanda serves as the director of the Undergraduate Honors Program. Professor Rutherford’s central research interests include political control and performance accountability, bureaucratic careers and executive decision-making, and issues of race, equity, and representation in the bureaucracy. Much of her research is conducted in the context of K-12 and higher education.

    O’Neill Speaks is the official podcast of the Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. All opinions and comments on O’Neill Speaks belong to the host and guest of the O’Neill School and don’t necessarily reflect those of the school itself. Music for O’Neill Speaks is by Manos Mars.
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    19 mins