Delaware County District Library

The public option, how to expand freedom, increase opportunity, and promote equality, Ganesh Sitaraman and Anne L. Alstott

eng

Includes bibliographical references (pages [235]-273) and index

index present

non fiction

The public option

bibliography

Ganesh Sitaraman and Anne L. Alstott

how to expand freedom, increase opportunity, and promote equality

Whenever you go to your local public library, send mail via the post office, or visit Yosemite, you are taking advantage of a longstanding American tradition: the public option. Some of the most useful and beloved institutions in American life, from public schools to museums, are public options--yet they are seldom celebrated as such. These government-supported opportunities co-exist peaceably alongside private options, ensuring equal access and expanding opportunity for all. Ganesh Sitaraman and Anne Alstott challenge decades of received wisdom about the proper role of government, inviting us to look past the political red herrings peddled by the right (and sometimes the left) and consider the vast improvements that could come from the expansion of public options

Part I. Understanding the public option: The limits of private action -- Why public options? -- The theory of the public option -- Caveats and counterarguments -- Part II. The history of the public option: Public libraries, social security and other successes -- Mixed results in education and housing -- Part III. The public option and public policy: Retirement -- Higher education -- Banking -- Child care -- Health care -- And more