In this mini-lecture, John Davenport, Ph.D., professor of philosophy, discusses Americans’ general misunderstanding of “public goods,” such as highways and schools. He notes the limitations of private ventures in providing such infrastructure and the necessity of educating young people about the need for these government services. Electing officials who want to shrink government, and by extension its services, while increasing the debt, only leads to “a lot of waste,” he says. He adds that the tax cuts passed last year by Congress will only make matters worse, with annual deficits that could top $800 billion and a debt more than $21 trillion.
Tom Stoelker
Tom Stoelker is senior staff writer and visual media coordinator for Fordham News. After fifteen years as a freelance designer, Tom shifted his focus to writing and photography. He graduated from Lehman College, CUNY where he majored in English literature and photography and he received his master's in journalism from Columbia University. His work has appeared in The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Wall Street Journal, and The Architect's Newspaper, where he was associate editor.
