Philip K. Howard

Philip K. Howard
An older white man with a blue collared shirt is looking directly into the camera with a small smile on his face.
Philip K. Howard
Website
philipkhoward.com

Philip K. Howard is an American lawyer and writer. He has written on the effects of modern law and bureaucracy on human behavior and the workings of society. He started Common Good, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization which advocates simplifying government.[1][2]

Work

Howard is the author of The Death of Common Sense (1995),[2] The Collapse of the Common Good (2002),[3] Life Without Lawyers (2009),[4] and The Rule of Nobody (2014).[5] The Death of Common Sense, which criticized over-regulation and excessive litigation, became a bestseller.[2] Howard also founded and heads Common Good, a nonprofit that advocates for reductions in regulation and litigation. The organization's Board of Directors has included Bill Bradley, Tom Kean, George McGovern, and Alan Simpson.[2]

Howard has proposed reform of the handling of medical malpractice suits.[6][7] In January 2017, Howard argued that the current civil service system is unconstitutional and should be replaced by executive order.[8][9]

Howard advised the presidential transition team of US President Donald Trump.[10] In April 2017, he joined Trump's Strategic and Policy Forum.[11][1] His 2015 report "Two Years, Not Ten Years," detailing the economic and environmental costs of delaying infrastructure approvals, has influenced the Trump Administration's infrastructure proposals, including their call for approvals to be made within two years.[1][12] Critics such as the Natural Resources Defense Council disagree with report's findings, arguing that money, not permits, is the reason infrastructure projects are delayed, and that Howard's report relied on outdated statistics.[13] The Trump administration's infrastructure proposal, released in February 2018, contained many of the recommendations from the report.[13]

Howard is a former chairman of the Municipal Art Society of New York.[14] He also chaired the committee that organized the Tribute in Light memorial for victims of the September 11 attacks.[15][16]

Reception

Howard's work has been praised by New York Times columnist David Brooks and Washington Post columnist George Will, the latter of whom called Life Without Lawyers "2009's most needed book on public affairs".[17][18] In contrast, Consumer Watchdog has accused Howard of having "a deep disregard for public use of the justice system"[19] and favoring corporate over consumer interests. In a Newsweek review of Life Without Lawyers, Dahlia Lithwick criticized Howard for ignoring the value of other areas of law when pushing for tort and malpractice reform, writing that "the one thing scarier than a bus full of lawyers is a bus without them."[20]

Between 2010 and 2014, Howard was a guest on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart three times, where he talked about starting a movement to streamline government and restore individual responsibility at every level of society.[21][22][23]

The Rule of Nobody was among the finalists for the Hayek Book Prize of the Manhattan Institute in both 2015 and 2016.[24]

Publications

External video
Booknotes interview with Howard on The Death of Common Sense, February 12, 1995, C-SPAN
Presentation by Howard on The Lost Art of Drawing the Line, May 8, 2001, C-SPAN
After Words interview with Howard on Life Without Lawyers, February 14, 2009, C-SPAN
Panel discussion with Howard on The Rule of Nobody, May 13, 2014, C-SPAN
  • Howard, Philip K. (1995). The Death of Common Sense: How Law is Suffocating America. New York: Random House (hardcover). ISBN 0-679-42994-8.
  • Howard, Philip K. (2002). The Collapse of the Common Good: How America's Lawsuit Culture Undermines Our Freedom. New York: Ballantine Books (paperback). ISBN 978-0-345-43871-3. (originally titled: The Lost Art of Drawing the Line)
  • Howard, Philip K. (2009). Life Without Lawyers: Liberating Americans from Too Much Law. New York: W. W. Norton & Company (hardcover). ISBN 978-0-393-06566-4.
  • Howard, Philip K. (2014). The Rule of Nobody: Saving America from Dead Laws and Broken Government. New York: W. W. Norton & Company (hardcover). ISBN 978-0-393-08282-1.

Howard also wrote the introduction to Al Gore's book Common Sense Government.

  • Gore, Al (2000-01-01). Common Sense Government : Works Better and Costs Less. Random House. ISBN 9780679771326. OCLC 852738628.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Trump Wants More Big Infrastructure Projects. The Obstacles Can Be Big, Too", Barry Meier, The New York Times, November 18, 2017
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Our Mindless Government Is Heading for a Spending Disaster", Nick Gillespie, The Daily Beast. April 10, 2014
  3. ↑ “We're Reaping What We Sue”, George McGovern & Alan K. Simpson, Wall Street Journal, April 17, 2002
  4. ↑ "Life Without Lawyers", Alex Altman, Time, January 27, 2009
  5. ↑ "The Rule of Nobody", Jesse Singal, The Boston Globe, April 17, 2014
  6. ↑ "Is the Law Making Us Less Free?", National Public Radio, March 14, 2014
  7. ↑ The Rise and Fall of HMOs, Jan Coombs, Univ. of Wisconsin Press, 2005, p. 253
  8. ↑ "Two really audacious proposals for Trump and the Republicans", Michael Barone, Washington Examiner, January 30, 2017
  9. ↑ Understanding Trump, Newt Gingrich, Center Street, 2017
  10. ↑ "Love to Hate Regulation? What's Realistic to Expect Under Trump", Leigh Buchanan, Inc., January 23, 2017
  11. ↑ "Another CEO meeting at 1600 Pennsylvania". POLITICO. Retrieved 2017-04-25.
  12. ↑ "How a bridge connecting New Jersey and New York became a poster child for Trump's infrastructure push", Kayla Tausche and Stephanie Dhue, CNBC, February 14, 2018
  13. 1 2 "Why President Trump Is Going It Alone on Infrastructure", Russell Berman, The Atlantic, March 29, 2018
  14. ↑ "New Leader for Art Society", Robin Pobegrin, The New York Times, June 17, 2008
  15. ↑ "From 88 Searchlights, an Ethereal Tribute", David W. Dunlap, The New York Times, March 4, 2002
  16. ↑ "Tribute in Light", Creative Time, 2003
  17. ↑ "The Responsibility Deficit", David Brooks, The New York Times, September 23, 2010
  18. ↑ "Litigation Nation", George Will, Washington Post, January 11, 2009
  19. ↑ “The Truth About Philip Howard’s ‘Common Good’” p. 3, The Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights
  20. ↑ “Imagining Life Without Lawyers”, Dahlia Lithwick, Newsweek, January 31, 2009
  21. ↑ Philip K. Howard interview, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, November 18, 2010
  22. ↑ Philip K. Howard interview, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, May 2, 2011
  23. ↑ Philip K. Howard interview, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, June 9, 2014
  24. ↑ Manhattan Institute (January 29, 2015). "The Manhattan Institute Announces Shortlist for Hayek Book Prize" (PDF). and Manhattan Institute (April 13, 2016). "Manhattan Institute Announces Hayek Book Prize Winner".
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