T H E ... S E A R C H ... F O R ... C E N T E R

TOPIC 1: DECISION MAKING IN THE COMMUNITY

The whole issue of what decisions should be made by whom, and what processes should be used for making decisions is a major problem area that must be addressed properly if community is ever going to work effectively. Personally, my sense is that voting is highly overated. In reality voting only appears to provide individuals a sense of being involved. My experience is that there are very few things that the government allows us to vote on that I care about at all ... what is on the ballot makes no real difference in my life. The biggest decisions, those that truly have the most impact seem to be decided by those with the greatest economic clout. Something is seriously wrong with being enslaved by those who control the economic system ... especially since those in this group do not get their power from We, The People hence are not responsible to us.

Question 1-1: What decisions require the involvement of everyone, and why do you feel that way?

Lion's Answer:

The BIG STUFF should probably be voted on.

• The minimum that society expects each individual to contribute to entitle that person to there guaranteed share of support from society.
• The percentage of budget/resources to apply to each major area required by the society.
• The minimum level of support that society agrees to provide to everyone.
• Issues involving what constitutes fair and equal opportunity.

The details should be left to smaller groups to decide that have people with the right interests and qualifications to effectively decide on a good solution.

Then again, consider the wisdom expressed in the following:

Question 1-2: What issues should be voted on? When should a simple majority be sufficient vs when should a two-thirds or even greater majority be required?

Lion's Answer:

In general, consensus should be used to decide on issues. Voting is always a compromise that permits the many to dictate the answer for the few. People should only vote on things that they personally care about and are willing to expend effort to become informed voters. Personally, I do not vote. There is NOTHING that I care to be part of a majority on. Spirit and its expression HERE and NOW is what matters most to me. This is not something to which voting can ever apply. It is beyond the realm in which the laws and agreements of men abide.

Question 1-3: What decisions should be delegated to groups of people with appropriate skills, knowledge, and time to analyze and evaluate the relevant details?

For instance, take something like Health Care. Doesn't it make sense to convene an appropriate panel that included the right mix of people to look at the issue in detail and mutually decide what is in the best interest of the collective ... given the resources and budget that are allocated? For instance, it seems like there should be a government decision made by our representatives that says we will spend 12% on Health Care, period. Then, the Health care panel should identify and prioritize the collective health care needs and decide how best to allocate that budget to get the best overall quality of health care for the collective overall. Right now, we spend the most and come out #26 in the world or something like that. To me, this seems stupid. It says we are paying far to much for what we are getting. By allowing this to be so, effectively we are voting with our pocketbooks and providing tacit agreement for keeping the status quo.

Question 1-4: Assuming we create such panels to tackle specific problem areas, what should the representation on such panels be? ... and how do we pay the people on such panels for the work we are asking them to do for us?

For our Health Care example, it seems that we should include not only the medical care providers ... but people that have experience USING these services so that we get a complete picture that includes the quality and the effectiveness of medical services from the view of patients! Further, there should be people that can serve as mediators that can see the problem as a whole that involves patients being served by medical service providers and that factors in the fiscal realities of making compromises that allow "good and acceptable" services to be provided for the greatest number at a reasonable cost that is within the allocated budget.

Lion's Answer:

Representation should be mixed and balanced on every issue. It should include people concerned about the issue ... experts from multiple relevent disciplines, laypeople impacted, and mediators/facilitators. Each issue should have a decision authority that may be one person or a group of people depending on the nature and scope of the problem being addressed that can make fair and impartial decisions.

Question 1-5: How should the BIG decisions be made on what percent of the budget should go to what? Who should decide that Health Care gets 12% and Education 8% and Prisons 10% and Defense 15% and ... (or whatever the numbers are)?

Nobody ever asked me what these things should be. But, the fact that we pay more for Prisons than for Education tells me that something is terribly WRONG with the current system. This simply should not be possible. My sense is that if this were brought to a vote, Education would win over Prisons in the budget priority by a landslide. If not, this country is in far worse condition than I've ever imagined.

Lion's answer:

These are things that WE, the people should be able to agree on and decide for ourselves.

Question 1-6: What should the major budget items be that we as a society should be deciding to allocate our budget and resources toward?

Let's start with education, health, welfare, defense, law-enforcement and prisons, transportation, resolving disputes and legal, regulation of economy, environment, research and innovative technology.

Lion's Answer:

Off the top of my head, I would rank them as follows.

Feel free to offer comments/feedback on any or all of the above to us at The Search for Center.

Better still,

Make such a list for yourself and send it to your representatives in Washington D.C. and at the State and Local levels (or the equivalents in countries other than the US). If you can come to a consensus with a group of people and send it collectively, it will have greater impact. When you send it, make it clear WHY you are sending it. In particular, the intent is to make your priorities and sense of relative importance of functions clear so that your representative can truly represent you.