GLOBAL
DIALOG
PROJECT

<< GLOBAL DIALOG HOME
<< Santa Fe Pages

Democracy ** Civil Liberties ** Freedom MAINPAGE>>


What are the costs of loss of liberty?

ARTICLES & INFO

Costs of federal infringements of American civil liberties - by The Global Dialog Project

Join our discussion list

Join the events-announcement list

The White House Office of Management and Budget has asked experts from around the country for ideas on how to measure "indirect costs" like lost time, lost privacy and even lost liberty that might stem from tougher security regulations. "People are willing to accept some burdens, some intrusion on their privacy and some inconvenience," said John Graham, director of regulatory affairs at the White House OMB. "But I want to make sure that people can see these intangible burdens."

- from ">Measuring Lost Freedom vs. Security in Dollars - by Edmund L. Andrews, the New York Times, March 11, 2003

What are the costs that *you* see to the infringement, violation, or impairment of American constitutional liberties like freedom of speech and of assembly, loss of rights to privacy or public information, loss of due process and the right to be judged innocent until proven guilty?

Add your comments and thoughts on this in the comment form at the bottom of the page; we'll then arrange them in categories for a report we plan to send to the White House OMB. If you can, put in parentheses the category of 'cost' that you are addressing - for instance, 'emotional' (as in stress), 'economic viability', 'longterm sustainability' - whatever category you think, as we have not yet established categories. Also, if you'd like to be part of a team looking at this in more depth, please email us at democracy@global-dialog.org. It's time we put our heads together on this crucial issue!