There are bounds of decency to be observed in every political direction; and everyone who hopes to be effective in politics has to engage in complicated and probably-unsatisfactory balancing acts. But, as I’ve noted before, I’m not a Republican because I’m unwilling to draw the line where the Republican Party draws it- trying to exclude David Duke and Pat Buchanan but include Trent Lott and Rick Santorum and Pat Robertson and Louis Sheldon and their base constituencies….Of course, given budgetary developments in the past three years, not being a Republican is easier than ever- libertarians are supposed to be tempted vote Republican and thereby trade in their opposition to intrusive government in exchange for getting a small government. If the Republicans increase the size of the state faster than Democrats, there’s no temptation to be weighed at all.
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Author: Mark Kleiman
Professor of Public Policy at the NYU Marron Institute for Urban Management and editor of the Journal of Drug Policy Analysis. Teaches about the methods of policy analysis about drug abuse control and crime control policy, working out the implications of two principles: that swift and certain sanctions don't have to be severe to be effective, and that well-designed threats usually don't have to be carried out.
Books:
Drugs and Drug Policy: What Everyone Needs to Know (with Jonathan Caulkins and Angela Hawken)
When Brute Force Fails: How to Have Less Crime and Less Punishment (Princeton, 2009; named one of the "books of the year" by The Economist
Against Excess: Drug Policy for Results (Basic, 1993)
Marijuana: Costs of Abuse, Costs of Control (Greenwood, 1989)
UCLA Homepage
Curriculum Vitae
Contact: Markarkleiman-at-gmail.com
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