The Public Option

We are so accustomed to arguments that government only infringes upon freedom that we forget how government, when intelligently deployed, can expand our choices—and yes, make us more free. In this important book Ganesh Sitaraman and Anne Alstott make a brilliant, clear, and accessible case for how public options in areas such as banking, health care, and child care can improve lives, especially for those whom the marketplace marginalizes. We already celebrate many public options, such as our great public universities and libraries. Sitaraman and Alstott urge us to think inventively about other areas where public options could make our nation both better and fairer. -- E. J. Dionne, Jr., coauthor of One Nation After Trump and author of Our Divided Political Heart
Timely, important, and convincing, this book is pretty much the definition of ‘fresh thinking.’ Key reading for a political generation that is on the search for new ideas for old problems. -- Tim Wu, author of The Curse of Bigness: Antitrust in the New Gilded Age
At a time of widespread debates about the role of public provision, Sitaraman and Alstott make a vibrant case for developing and preserving public options in education, health care, child care, broadband access, banking, and retirement benefits. To get beyond slogans and move toward real and practical proposals to improve the daily lives of Americans, and strengthen our commitments to others, read this book. -- Martha Minow, author of Partners, Not Rivals: Privatization and the Public Good
In this timely and stirring call for reform, two of our nation’s smartest policy thinkers recapture our past to chart our future. Sitaraman and Alstott remind us that Americans have long supported policies that offer a choice between government and the private sector, and they show us how this model—the public option—could provide innovative solutions to perennial challenges facing child care, retirement savings, higher education, and much more. -- Jacob S. Hacker, author of The Great Risk Shift: The New Economic Insecurity and the Decline of the American Dream
Filled with ingenious ideas for strengthening the public sector and also bolstering our democracy…Demonstrate[s] that true public institutions, such as public schools and public child care, are more efficient as well as more equitable than private ones trying to carry out public purposes. -- Robert Kuttner * American Prospect *
I hope every 2020 presidential candidate—yes, I’m being optimistic about President Trump—reads the policy book of the summer… The two law professors are not interested in government taking over everything. On the contrary, what they seek is to expand choice. -- E. J. Dionne, Jr. * Washington Post *
Their proposal is not that the public sector should displace the private sector, but rather that offering a publicly-run alternative would expand everyone’s choices and ensure that no one is left too far behind. -- Simon Johnson * Project Syndicate *
An enthusiastic, accessible, and convincing case that more ‘public option’ government services would significantly improve the quality of life for average Americans. * Publishers Weekly (starred review) *
Makes a compelling case for affordable government-funded services that coexist with private options. * ProMarket *