Why?
Excuses are the status quo
Why do so many people with power — whether political, institutional or financial — insist on maintaining the status quo when it so often doesn’t work? There are so many societal problems that have clear solutions. And yet the people who actually control policy, capital, and regulations frequently allow every conceivable excuse to block them.
Yes, change can be scary. And yes, most people in politics are in it for reasons other than achieving tangible progress. But it doesn’t have to be this way. As we head into the new year, maybe those who hold office, authority, or influence can start not only asking ourselves these questions, but actually do something about it. For example:
Why do policymakers and regulators allow 40,000 people to die every year in car accidents (in the U.S. alone) when we now have self-driving cars?
Why do we allow our political system and democracy itself to be controlled by the handful of extremes and special interests who bother to vote in primaries when we now have mobile voting that can make voting far easier and more secure for everyone?
Why do we force consumers to pay far too much for electricity from an overtaxed grid when we have nuclear power and alternative forms of energy like solar and wind?
Why do we let kids go without food and thereby waste all of the education dollars spent trying to teach kids who can’t focus because they’re hungry?
Why do we force people to pay far too much in rent or to buy a home when we have dozens of ways to reduce construction costs ranging from limiting all of the endless roadblocks like community vetoes and repetitive environmental reviews to using technologies like modular construction, prefabrication, ADUs, structural insulated panels, envelope systems and 3D-printed homes?
Why do we deny people access to cost-effective programs like Medicare when the societal and economic cost of their medical debt, bankruptcies, emergency room usage and lost worker productivity is exponentially greater?
Why do we force taxpayers to spend far more than necessary to support government administration when we can use AI for functions like procurement, data management, facilities management and compliance?
Why do we deny our economy the workers it needs — and deny Social Security and Medicare the cash infusions they need — when we have tens of millions of qualified people from around the world ready and willing to do those jobs?
Why do we waste hundreds of billions of dollars poorly educating children with ineffective and outdated teaching methods when we have AI tools that can teach to the individual learning style of each kid?
Why do we continue to insist that the American Dream requires a four-year liberal arts degree when we can offer most students an education in the profession they want to pursue for half the cost in half the time?
Why do we make it easy to buy assault rifles when we have endless mass shootings? We limit access and require high standards for everything from lawn mowers to tanning beds — but not the thing that actually kills us.
Why do we let people sleep on the streets? It’s bad for them and bad for everyone else. Virtually any other form of housing is better than this.
Why do we have massive backlogs from everything from pardon applications to asylum claims to tax refunds to veterans’ health care when we have technology like AI that can clear almost all of it?
Why do we impose so many requirements and so much red tape for people who just want to start basic businesses and employ people?
Some of the arguments above are liberal. Some are conservative. I don’t really care about ideologies or identity politics or tribalism. Those are all excuses for people in power (whether that power comes from office or money) who are afraid of standing by their own beliefs and abilities and actions. I care about helping people and getting shit done. If you have authority, a vote, capital, a budget or a regulatory pen, you have the ability to solve so many of our problems. And we just let nonsensical excuses get in the way of doing so.
If you want a better world, and you are wealthy, influential or elected, stop complaining and start fighting on behalf of actual solutions, regardless of who complains. It’s in your hands. Do something about it.
The secret to the Ds and Rs control over "politics" (and why nothing gets fixed) is that no one thinks politics is an industry - no one thinks it's a business. Once we do, we can follow a proven blueprint for disruption; think eBay, Craigslist, Yelp, Amazon, YouTube, Airbnb, Facebook Marketplace, etc. Candidates are "sellers," and voters are "buyers;" organizing them on a 2-sided marketplace (and creating a level playing field) is the solution to getting big money out of elections and good people to run... If you want to see what such a campaigning marketplace (and app) would look and function like, I'd be happy to demo the platform we're building....
Agreed! One tiny example: Lake Shore Drive in Chicago. With a totally unenforced posted speed limit of 45 MPH. Traffic routinely moves at 55 to 75. Fatalities follow with regularity. Chicago has Speed Cameras but refuses to utilize them on this roadway. The city by the way is broke and could easily make millions while saving lives. Go figure.