Friday, March 23, 2012

Jumping on a band wagon well.......

Well actually jumping on one of my ongoing thoughts or my own bandwagon. The more I think about it I really think the concept of a renewal of a Progressive Conservative party is what we need right now. Like I have mentioned before the Democrats and their policies just haven't worked and the Republicans don't have a policy anymore. They just seem to think getting what they want will work just because they say so.

Most Americans are at least moderately conservative. So you would think that the Republican party would be in good shape, but deep within the general republican faithful they are suffering the huge disconnect from the elite Republican leadership that has no clue how hard it is for the middle and lower middle class nor an understanding of the true problems facing the country. The Democrats seem to have a clue, but lack any affordable and/or workable solution. So where does that leave us?

This is my second try at defining the issues really affecting the future of our country. We do not need to change our constitution, we just need to change who is trying to run our government. Basically we need new blood with an understanding of who we are and where we need to go.

So lets look at a few topics that need to be addressed. This is by no means inclusive or do I have them prioritized. These are just the main issues facing us from the general view point of progressive conservatism.

The first issue or topic of course is the economy. You can create a wide variety of programs or ideas to jump start the economy. It is putting programs in place that ignite new industries that would be most beneficial. So nothing new said here, but looking at the next two topics better explain where a progressive conservative agenda might be different and mixture of new policies directly affect all three. And I am not trying to solve today ,but define or create an ongoing dialouge.

The second topic is education. This is really a key driver in the wholesale changes we need. Our education system is not set up to adapt to a changing world. It is rigid and success is measured in all the wrong ways. The entire system needs to be overhauled. Some examples for now with the understanding that there are thousands of good ideas out there. First there is the thought that not everyone should go to college, but that leaves us with a the task of who should go. We should not decide that, that belongs to each person. What we should do is spend more time helping/educating our children to decide what works best for them. We should spend less time on standardized tests and more time on aptitude and development. Children should spend more time being taught variety of subjects early then testing their understanding not for grades but to learn interest and conception. We still need to cover some basics like language development, math, civics, and reading. Basically create a more progressive core curriculum for everyone, but at the same time the process as they go up through the grades should start to determine what they can do best. Think about it this way: simply over time you would be able to understand which child might be a better engineer or a better car mechanic ie design vs practical application. Now we couldn't choose for the child but the child would have a better understanding of what fits best for him or for better informed choices by the time they reach standard college age. Again this is simplistic example. You must also give EVERY child a strong core education so each child can be successful in their chosen profession or life. You cannot tell someone what to do, but you can educate for better preparation. Also think about the full concept of education which involves the understanding to respect each individual. So lets say a child decides to become a mechanic he should be educated to the point of still being able to understand the world around him and even more such as being able to run a business if he decides to open his own shop. Again a need for core competencies with advanced concepts as he reaches traditional college. This is just a simplistic diagram of something bigger.

The third topic is poverty. I have started a recent set of blogs devoted to this topic. Lets assume the reality that there will always be poverty. You will never be able to completely eradicate it. The infamous war on poverty though is a viable concept. The key is to give each person the ongoing opportunity to move out of poverty. Failing to allow for class movement creates a system designed to fail. Take into account that there is class movement that is now a growing increase into poverty. This sends us as a society into fail mode. Yes you can argue that there is still some opportunity to move up,but this is becoming less and less. The key is to reverse the current trend that is growing exponentially from the current recession. The typical Democrat policy is to keep giving help. This has become too costly and hasn't worked. A more progressive approach would be to create economic zones that work with the education concept slightly outlined above so we can start helping a generation of children become better off. Basically this is one aspect of a multiple prong attack on poverty. Our education system has failed those in need and we keep trying to make it better by changing the measurements not the actual process. I will talk more about education another time, but for now understand that wholesale changes are needed to help us going forward.

The economic zones are another aspect in attacking poverty. I tried describing an idea around them in an earlier post. The gist is to get people in under developed areas to become responsible for the development of the area by creating ownership of the development. Basically if the people can own the means to build themselves out of poverty true wealth will be created for those that succeed. Sure not everyone will, but some of the by product will be more jobs too. So you create new wealth and enlarge the middle class. Two very important keystones to a strong democracy. So basically instead of the government helping people you have the people helping the government by becoming successful, using less resources and adding to the overall economy. Yes the government gets involved, but not by using money, but by giving the structure and framework for the people to build.

The above is some very generalized stepping stones to creating public policy that fits our current needs. Much more detail of course is needed. Do you see anything close coming from Democrats or Republicans, especially when you consider the concept of treating people with respect? In each of these examples self reliance is important, yet guidance and structure are worked into the process to protect people as they build.

Another issue is working capital in general for the economy. Basic free market concepts do work to build an economy and help a society grow. What is different is that free reign and hoarding of resources cannot be accepted as the norm. I don't want to take away anyone's hard earned money, but there comes a point where excessive greed and money for the sake of money is detrimental to the common good. Can you pick a number and institutionalize a policy around it,?no. Should you be allowed to just remove money off the top and say no more for you,? no. It becomes important what a person does past a certain point that matters. If you live in a society that lets you benefit from your efforts it doesn't mean you have to stop and give it all back, but there is and this is a definite there is a certain amount of responsibility you have to giving back. And that can be done in a variety of ways. The society needs to create a framework that gives you the opportunity to give back without hindering you as a person. Yet this framework must exist. Two quick thoughts on this topic, and I have said both before. Greed is more costly to society than poverty and greed does cause poverty, and second the winners cannot be in charge of the rules. This by human nature will cause problems. Our founding Fathers argued this extensively and was the topic of a few of the Federalist papers. Where does it become important for pursuit of happiness etc cross the need to govern the people? Sorry that was simplistic question for a much bigger discussion Adams, Jefferson, Madison etc had.

And there is another discussion waiting in the wings and that is what is conservative vs liberal. Remember liberal by our founding Fathers definition was to become more democratic, funny how the democratic party seems to be running contrary to this, and conservative is to protect the core values of a society, and the Republicans run counter to this by ignoring the needs to provide equal opportunity for all. Which leads me to my last thought of the evening. Progressive conservative is a viable concept developed early in the 20th century that needs to be brought back with modern variations to move this country forward. This concept really provides for the best of conservatism and the true liberal concept of expanding democracy.

Folks it is time for change and we can do it with what we have, thank God for our constitution that lets us make change positively.

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