Subject: Re: A perennial conundrum
Date: Thu, Aug 14, 2014
Msg: 101080
So you want a structure of government where the structure itself forces those in charge to make wise decisions.
Why isn't cap-and-prioritize the structure you are looking for?
The cap guarantees fiscal sustainability (just like the cap in cap-and-trade guarantees environmental sustainability) and the transparency of prioritized budgets forces what's left of government spending to allocated wisely (just like the trade in cap-and-trade enables society to wisely allocate what resources are left under the cap).
- Rick Raddatz http://IncentiveReform.org
> On Jul 21, 2014, at 8:23 AM, Steven H Johnson wrote: > > When I think of the America I'd like to see, I find myself imagining an America whose major laws and institutions are shaped to respect core virtues and promote the national interest and the common good. > > When I think of the America we have, I see a political system whose officials are rewarded for their self-righteousness. > > Will the self-righteous produce laws that promote the common good? Hmm. Not too likely, it it? This disparity creates a huge clash between the civic culture that modernity requires, and the civic culture that self-righteous partisanship creates. > > If there is to be any lasting cure to this tension, I think it will have to arise from within civil society. Those not locked into the self-righteousness of any particular -ism will be better at promoting a culture of virtue and national interest thinking. > > And some of the key reforms will have to be driven by independents, those not beholden to the -isms of America's major partisan coalitions. > > That's not to say that Americans caught up in the spirit of self-righteousness should not be listened to or engaged in dialogue. But it is to say that dialogues among the self-righteousness won't take us a very long way toward the healing of America. America won't work properly till policies born of self-righteousness have been replaced with policies rooted in virtue and enlightened self-interest. > > What do these thoughts say to this process? Perhaps we should add a framing of the "transpartisan" mission as an exploration of the tension between partisan self-righteousness and the realization of America's full potential. > > Best to all, > > Steve Johnson > > > > Steven Howard Johnson - Civic Futurist > 410-562-0361 > Book in Progress: Thoughtful Patriotism > > > To unsubscribe from the TRANSPARTISAN list, click the following link: > http://lists.thataway.org/scripts/wa-THATAWAY.exe?SUBED1=TRANSPARTISAN&A=1
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