Most people are quite tired of endless torrents of problems to be solved and no one quite willing to actually solve them. Disregarding those who don’t actually care or seek to profit off of the misery of others, America finds itself faced with a staggering number of ‘leaders’ who believe that feeling strongly about an issue is the same thing as actually doing something about it. Rather than get dragged into the usual mess of logical fallacies, ad-hominems, and other such distractions, allow me to suggest a novel concept that has rarely been tried before:
* Publicly presenting policy roadmaps and frameworks, to instigate open debate on what should and should not be undertaken as a course of action for the country. With the resulting conversation as leverage, use that to force politicians to work towards making those goals part of actual policy to be voted on and implemented.
Let’s take a very current, relevant issue: RENT.
Housing is too expensive. Apartments are too expensive. People of all races, of many rungs of income, all squeezed by the current housing situation.
There is an obvious point of release here: Increase supply.
While the particulars of why pricing is troubled will vary from location to location, in all cases it can be alleviated by increasing the supply. More apartments. More houses. The quickest way to stop price gouging is to get rid of artificial shortages, and I’m sure a lot of economic nerds in the audience can site the research showing such.
However! Just having a politician standing up going “we should have more apartments” does NOTHING. Absolutely bupkis. Getting from the idea to the result requires a plan, it requires sunlight on that plan to allow common sense to fix oversights, it requires funding, it requires time, and it requires the people to actively want it to happen. To that end:
* Create a commission on making trade schools for construction and materials trades. Do not just hide it in a backroom. Public meetings, air it on TV, run shiny marketing summaries of the salient points.
* States want input on this? Great! Get their housing departments. Invite them to join the table and give ideas on the particular construction issues facing their geography and urban landscape.
* Businesses/Contractors want input on this? Great! We’d need experienced builders and tradesmen to teach and apprentice younger people. Link people who want to have better skilled workers with the money and tools to teach them.
* Give the states block grants for housing projects, to spend on making more apartments and houses, to be given off to builders that must PUBLICLY state why they have a good track record and why they deserve the money, rather than hiding it in a city ledger where fraud can develop.
* Require that a portion of the money given to the developer must then be used to subsidize the cost/rent over x number of years, as a way of paying it forward to the community.
* Fund it with property taxes on the richest estates. People who have homes can help people who do not.
By actively working towards a goal in the sunlight, you make it political suicide to oppose that sort of progress. A plan like this not only alleviates a problem that affects a vast amount of Americans, but also provides a concrete path forward, revitalizes a job sector and makes it a matter of civic pride rather than a job “no one wants”. Heck that. Honor the builders of tomorrow. Give them the tools and planning they need to succeed. And do it in a way that any Republican who cries about the rich being taxed will be forgotten like the craven misers they are.
Fun fact: I don’t actually have contacts with representatives and senators. I don’t have the network needed to make this sort of plan get headway.
But I bet some of you do. That you’re active and activist, that you can get this sort of idea flowing before the ears of politicians.
If you’re tempted to say “this will never work” or other such negativities, instead try and figure out a way to MAKE it work. This is too important to just say “eh” and hope that someone else comes up with a better idea. The better idea is the one that we make together, by not giving up.
— Peace and Be Well