Tom
An Old Friend
Decided to offer a solution. It may not be the solution need but at least I tried.
I said:It is my opinion that most of the United States Citizens have no clue how our nation should be governed. This is my attempt to offer some ideas so we might get on the right thinking to repair the damage that has already been done. Being a free nation with people from all walks of life, I encourage all citizens to offer solutions.
As complicated as this subject is, there will be many replies due to the nature of Facebook posting restrictions.
The First thing we must all realize is that people in public office are not there to make our decisions for us but to listen to our concerns and put them into effect for all citizens. We elect our public officials to represent our will as a people regardless of how they feel personally. Their job is to listen to what we want and try to make it happen. Not everyone attends all the public meetings all the time. The only way a public official can grasp the will of the people is for them to go to where the people gather and ask the questions.
Our National government is a multistage entity that begins with you and rises thru stages to a national concensus at the office of the president. There are many levels between those two points that governing entities should be making things happen. Not all concerns need to rise to the top. It is the job of each elected representative to accomodate the will of the people for the concerns that can be handled at their level of influence. Local issues handled at local levels and so on. Here is how it could be accomplished.
I said:Every community has community leaders. I think the position of Mayor is the initial governing entity but there are leaders that are not elected yet hold sway over the opinions of our citizens. Those are Pastors and Priests, Local Barbers & Hairdressers, Bartenders, Business Owners and Neighborhood Watch Leaders. Community, Borough, Town and City Mayors need to hear what the citizens of their appointment are concerned with on a steady basis. Not only do they need to listen to concerns and ideas from their citizens they should gather the citizens ideas and solutions to community issues that each and every one of us are faced with. Their job, is to take that gathered information and determine if it is a local issue or needs to be alerted to the next higher governing authority. For local issues, Their job is to assign the right agency to enact the changes needed to fulfill the wishes of their citizens. If those wishes are not fulfilled what is the point of Freedom? Local changes that require funding that exceeds the taxbase funding allowance need to be broght to the citizens attention by feedback so the citizens can determine if the increased costs are worth the additional taxes to make it happen. This requires that public official to have all their ducks in a row with all the information required for the citizens to make a proper decision. YES, They will be required to actually think and do some work.
So, How do you start this thing?
First, We need to think about the time an elected official has available. There are 5 work days per week at 8 hours per day. There are 52 weeks in the year. Elected officials are paid by salary, therefore their job is not governed by a time clock. If you are a salary employee you know that sometimes your job requires you to work extended hours to get the job done. Why should elected officials be any different?
Three days of the week, our Mayor should be listening to the citizens and taking notes. Visiting with Junior and Seniors in school assemblies, Visiting their local colleges, industries and businesses. Visiting local churches after session to hear the will of the people.
The other two day of the week should be dedicated to enacting the will of the people and pushing their higher level concerns up the governing ladder.
Not every week needs 3 days here or 2 days there. If the workload is too much for one person, send a team to accoplish the goal and record each session. Make those recordings available on the local government website for streaming. Open the site for comments with a sign-in so citizens can give instant feedback.
Every local government website should have a comments and issues page. Comments should be restricted to membership that requires a citizen to list their address (which is rejected if the address is not withing that governing jurisdiction) and age (age because you must be 18 to vote). If you are concerned enough to comment you should be dedicated enough to put your name on it.
Why go to High Schools?
Our children in 11th and 12th grade are about to become our citizens. While some of their decision making processes are still developing they will be the most forthwith to issues that concern them. While their votes don't yet count, it can give the Mayor a glimpse as to future issues within the community.