HKS in the News July 31, 2012

1. Mexican Oil Reforms Are Vital on Both Sides of the Border (O’Sullivan) Bloomberg News

2. What’s Good for Verizon and AT&T Is Terrible for American Consumers (Crawford) Wired

3. Charter schools key pieces of the education puzzle (Chieppo) The Taunton Daily Gazette (MA)

Mexican Oil Reforms Are Vital on Both Sides of the Border

Bloomberg News

July 30

Commentary by: Meghan O'Sullivan, Belfer Center

Topic: Oil reforms in Mexico

In recent days a coalition of Mexican advocacy groups has been protesting in front of Televisa, the country’s largest TV network, to contest the legitimacy of President-elect Enrique Pena Nieto’s July 1 victory.

These protests are the second in a string of such demonstrations scheduled before Pena Nieto takes office in December. They bode ill for Mexico’s near-term political future, pointing to a rocky transition at a time when the challenges facing the country are anything but modest. Americans might assume that tackling the drug trade that has resulted in more than 47,000 deaths since 2006 would top the agenda. But a strong case can be made that energy reforms are at least as urgent, for if Mexico can’t stem its sharply deteriorating energy situation, its ability to tackle other systemic problems will be severely compromised. …

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What’s Good for Verizon and AT&T Is Terrible for American Consumers

Wired

July 26

Commentary by: Susan Crawford, Shorenstein Center

Topic: Changes in U.S. wireless carriers

This summer, the very big wireless carriers in America, Verizon (106 million subscribers) and AT&T (99 million), are poised to get even bigger. As they move towards squashing cheap data substitutes for expensive voice minutes, consider charging application providers to reach subscribers, layer on fees for additional devices, and collect overage charges for data usage, they will bulk up on customers and revenue. This is good for them, but not good for the rest of us.

Continued growth for the nation’s largest wireless carriers hinges on offering access to data. That is the commodity they are selling. The problem, however, is that there are very few sources for this commodity, even though it is an essential ingredient of 21st century life. …

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Charter schools key pieces of the education puzzle

The Taunton Daily Gazette (MA)

July 30

Commentary by: Charles Chieppo, Ash Center

Topic: Massachusetts charter schools

Competition is the taxpayers’ best friend. Fair and open competition is a proven tool for ensuring the delivery of high-quality government services at the lowest-possible price. But competition is often threatening, especially to entities — including private ones — that stand to lose market share.

Just witness the deed restrictions the Archdiocese of Boston places on many of the properties it sells. While many disagree with provisions prohibiting the use of the properties for abortion counseling or stem-cell research, they are certainly understandable given the church’s teachings. …

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Broadcast Notes

Stephen Walt, Belfer Center

Minnesota Public Radio “ The Daily Circuit,” 7/30

Topic: Palestinian reactions to Mitt Romney’s comments at recent fundraiser

Susan Crawford, Shorenstein Center

American Public Media “Marketplace,” 7/27

Topic: Testing the market for fiber networks