Mimic Mother Nature to Create a New Political Party

Once again, I am referring to some things learned in Thomas Friedman’s new book, “Thank You for Being Late: An Optimists Guide to Thriving in the Age of Accelerations”.  An interesting part relates to how we have just finished a difficult political season where many are left unsatisfied. Thomas Friedman suggests we are now in the Age of Accelerations, where everything is moving so fast it is hard, if not impossible to keep up. He says three large forces, technology, globalization, and Mother Nature (climate change), are accelerating simultaneously.  He suggests that because all is moving so fast and that we all have trouble keeping up, many want leaders to slow things down.  This, he suggests, is why many extreme views are getting traction.  He explains to keep our balance, we need dynamic stability, which is only possible if we keep learning to keep pace.

To meet this need, he suggests we need a political party that is based on Mother Nature or one that mimics Mother Nature’s killer applications. Without question, nature is incredible. You can see multiple posts where I discuss this, including Jane Benyus’s work on Biomimicry at Parallel NOT Linear Means Create Positive AND Prevent Negative, and  McKibbin thoughts on “The Pope and the Planet”, Today’s Pascal’s Wager, One We Must Make!,  Better Has to be Better, We are Just Talking Apes and more.

With regard to the new Political party based on Mother Nature, Friedman suggests it would have this slogan, “Making the Future work for Everybody,” and a platform with these agenda items that would mimic Mother Nature’s Killer App’s:

1. Have single-payer universal health care funded by a value-added tax VAT consumption
2. Extend Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit
3. Would pair free trade agreements
4. All post secondary education would be tax deductible, so they would continually learn, which means more teachers, learners, and economic growth. Also, Universities would move to a 3-year program as in Israel and Europe – better for student debt.
5. Roll back costly bankruptcy reform because changes have made it hard to declare bankruptcy and start again.
6. Build a High wall and have a big gate for immigrants to feel safe inside but also bring in many good, welcoming people.
7. Tax incentives for Internet development because of the need to stay current and in global flows
8. Borrow 50 million at low current rates to upgrade ports, airports, and grids – and this would also boost employment because it will increase jobs.
9. Ban semi-automatic and other military-style guns like Australia to limit gun violence and buy back those guns that are in circulation.
10. Have a tax reform that eliminates corporate income tax, so America has the lowest rate, now highest, because this will bring all money back from overseas. To replace that revenue, use taxes on financial trades and bullets and end lower dividend and capital gains tax rate – so this is taxed the same as other income.
    • These changes will be made because we need to use taxes to incentivize and grow what we want: investment, work, and hiring and shrink what we don’t want carbon emissions, tax avoidance, overregulation, climate change, and gun violence – which these changes will do.
11. Put warning labels on all sugary drinks, candies, and high-sugar fast foods.
12. Appoint an independent commission to review Dodd-Frank and Sarbanes Oxley accounting regulations for reforms to assure not hurting entrepreneurship.
13. Create a Regular Improvement Commission as proposed by Progressive Policy Institute in May 2013 policy paper to improve and or remove regulations.
14. Like England, limit political campaign spending and time for national campaigns to a few months.
15. End gerrymandering and make voting better.
16. Elevate the Peace Corps to the defense of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, Marines, and us Peace Corps as an offense that helps others live and be better in their homeland.
17. Make progress on gender equality and family planning
18. Have social technology innovation incentives such as a race to the topper states that retrain workers  best

This is an excellent idea because Thomas Friedman has eloquently described how to design a political party intending to generate all good by creating pervasive, reciprocal, selfish, selfless, synergistic interactions so everyone and everything benefits. Or, as he says, a party with the of “Making the Future work for Everybody”.

I look forward to hearing about how we can all work toward these worthwhile goals and objectives.

 

Be Well’r,
Craig Becker

 

Be selfish, selfless, & synergistic so everyone and everything benefits!