How New York and New Jersey Can Fix the Port Authority

Recent scandals at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey have led to a vigorous discussion about how to reform that enormous agency, which touches the lives of everyone who drives, flies or consumes imported goods in or near New York City. The governors of New York and New Jersey have even toyed with splitting the agency along state lines. But the Port Authority's problem is not that it's run by two states. Its challenge is the same one faced by every large, complex public entity: preventing the kind of politicization, corruption and stagnation that so often creep into the public sector.

The irony here is that the Port Authority is itself a 20th century effort to meet this challenge. Created in 1921 as a then-novel entity -- the public authority -- it was intended to bring efficiency to the public sector, which was viewed as riddled with patronage appointments, corruption and inefficiency. With a board of directors appointed by the two governors, the authority was to be like a corporation: The board would act in the interests of the shareholders -- the public -- prioritizing efficiency and long-term thinking and running the agency like a business.