Two friends have an op-ed in today’s Tallahassee Democrat calling for the establishment of a national public service academy, a “civilian West Point for our best and brightest public service-minded women and men.”

Two years ago, a gentleman came to Fordham to talk with Mike and me about the same topic. Two thoughts that occurred to me then occur to me now. How much is this going to cost? (Easy answer: a lot.) And don’t scads of private enterprises already fulfill this need and do it pretty well? Think, for example, about all the competitive, “service oriented” organizations that flourish in education alone.