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BottomUpIdea 4 - 04 Mar 2009 - Main.GregOrr
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| | What if the federal government were to award some amount of money (say $10 or $25 million) annually to the best social programs proposed through a public wiki website? With money clearly dedicated, a well-designed website, and thought-out rules and criteria for evaluation, I think the wiki would attract lots of attention and effort.
One of Obama’s change messages is that solutions have to come from the bottom up. He wants the general public to be more involved in government and points to the internet as a means. The wiki format would be a good way to deliver. With billions doled out to corporations and public works stimulus, this could provide politically powerful balance and unique impact. | | | On the other hand, perhaps it's counter-productive to think of things in those terms. Even a $700 billion community programs bailout would not rectify the injustices and imbalances that created the problems. Talking about a "good" bailout in this way makes me think of the conversations we've had trying to justify working at a big firm and what not. It begins to feel like a rationalization; throwing money at something in order to make ourselves feel less bad about whatever role our culture, class, or chosen profession played in the economic destruction we are now facing.
-- MolissaFarber - 03 Mar 2009 | |
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Joseph, thanks. I agree that some communities would not have the means to contribute directly, though one might hope enterprising do-gooders would be there to act as their mouthpiece. To me, the more pressing concern is the likelihood that the format would produce any actionable ideas/plans at all that can either compete with what we get from top-down government or address overlooked issues. The idea is a non-starter if it fundamentally can't do one of these things. (One could imagine insufficient interest, coordination, or proficiency.) Beyond that core conceptual hurdle lie many operational problems, like organizational management and oversight. (I’ve thought about these problems and would be happy to discuss if there’s enough interest.) A key advantage, though, is that, like an internet startup, it’s not expensive to try and doesn’t have to work perfectly right away.
Molissa, the juxtaposition of this and the financial bailouts has emotional resonance, which might make it politically viable, but a ‘social program bailout’ isn’t really the thrust of the idea for me. I’m thinking of starting in motion an alternative/complementary means of government. Social programs provide a relatively low-expertise, low-risk, feel-good ground for development.
In a country of 300 million increasingly heterogeneous people dealing with increasingly multifarious and technical problems, we have 1 president, 535 members of Congress, and 9 Supreme Court justices. Everything that gets done by the federal government ultimately flows through them. Do you, personally, feel well-represented by these people? Do you think they can handle the job? I get the feeling that it’s too much. Think of how complicated the Stimulus Bill is and how fast it was rushed into law. Look at Ben Bernanke’s face in a Congressional hearing when he has to repeat himself and answer badly framed questions ad nauseum. It seems to me they are straining for answers and “ceremonial adequacy” in equal parts. It would be nice if the people could take more of the burden on themselves.
-- GregOrr - 04 Mar 2009 | | | |
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