Ted's Take

I believe I am an independent thinker and I know I am one of those undecided voters that is so in demand right now. I am looking for a leader AND a manager. Someone who focuses on the big picture but knows how to get things done. Someone who knows we need change but someone who will be able to deliver.

If I were President, here would be the ten point program I would be focused on come the new year post inauguration:

1. Further redefine the role of Government. Be an activist and authentic on big national matters and clarify what Federal operations do and decentralize more activist programs down to the state and local levels. Think globally but act locally as all politics are local. We see that this weekend as a major hurricane is heading towards Louisiana and the work of the Governor and Mayor of New Orleans are more important than the work of the Department of Homeland Security, as it should be. The levees are a major infrastructural program to be co-managed by national and local bodies with funding from the US Government as a key deliverable. It is great that President Bush is personally involved but let us be honest; this is a state and city issue with the US Government supporting the local authorities.
2. Focus on infrastructure-related programs. Our roads; bridges; levees; power grids; communications; broadband; water; fuel delivery; and related services need to upgraded and enhanced. Without excellent infrastructure our economy cannot be improved. The quality of life and our collective safety and security will be in danger. This is not sexy. It is all management and tactical but if we can’t deliver clean water, electricity and safe roads and bridges; where will we be as a nation? Look at the third world and the major issues that plague some countries all evolve around basics such as clean water, disease control, etc. etc.
3. Dedicate ourselves to green technology. We need to focus our investment and resources and tax breaks on companies that can create and develop alternative fuels and methodologies to get off of the total dependence on foreign fuel in 10 years. Make this a Manhattan Project-like program. We will save money. We will create jobs. We will stimulate the US automotive industry. We will create great new US-based wealth. We will rob our enemies of cash to fund nefarious operations against us. We can get our carbon footprint way down and reclaim the moral high ground and set an example for other nations to follow. We can also work with universities to create majors and a curriculum that is focused on these new categories of study.
4. Educate. Focus on investment in math, science, basic reading and technology. We need to graduate 100,000 PhDs per year then a half a million PhDs per year to stay competitive in our global economy. The race is on for great thinkers and brain power mostly in math and sciences. We should bonus students in these key categories and make our leadership in technology a key deliverable for the sake of our economy. It wouldn’t hurt if we could all learn to speak Mandarin, too, as China will graduate 1 million PhDs this year - to our 25,000 - in math and computer sciences.
5. Make community service a mandatory deliverable. Perhaps we should make college a five year program with every student needing to volunteer for a year in their community or outside the US via a series of programs. The government could pay a stipend and this would enlighten young adults to the world around them and our best advertisement for democracy would be a huge volunteer force of great young Americans thinking of their place in the world and NOT focused on consumerism and immediate career gratification. The government should reinvest in the Peace Corps, AmeriCorps and all volunteer-related programs.
6. Re-purpose our military away from being a police force to being a force of quiet strength and one that does good work around the world. When a major global catastrophe hits, our military can help foreign lands and this good work elevates our standing in the world’s eyes. We need to continue to invest in technology-based solutions to keep our nation and people safe and secure but our military should be used as a force of last resort. And whenever we fight, it must be within a coalition of other nations. The world is too big now to fight battles on our own. Investment in foreign lands is usually a better way to maintain the peace than providing a few good men to wage war. We need a stronger and larger and better trained and outfitted military but it also needs to be used with the greatest of care. We also must elevate how we deal with returning soldiers who protect us. We need better educational programs and financial aid programs and when one is injured, all care and resources should be dedicated to them in repayment for their services to our country.
7. Healthcare. It is time to focus on health - not just treatment - and create stimulus to a healthier lifestyle and tax breaks for the healthiest amongst us. We should be able to provide a basic level of free healthcare to all. This should be a major deliverable of the federal, state and local governments as well as private concerns. If independent companies don’t want to see government-handled health care, they need to step up and work as a team to get all US citizens coverage and no one should be turned away. Health, safety, security, education and infrastructure, these are all basic deliverables of government. Tell the people of the US what this will cost. We will pay it. Tax us for this deliverable. We can handle it. We want it.
8. It is still the economy stupid!!!! Create a system that rewards more start-ups in technology-based businesses. Focus on cleaning up the financial services sector to get the banks able to make loans again to small businesses and homeowners. Buy American to keep our dollars in the US. Tax heavily global purchases so that we keep dollars flowing within our own borders. Stop borrowing so much money from countries like China. These debts will have to be paid and we are weakening ourselves as a nation. If we can’t pay in cash as a country, we shouldn’t be buying it. Stop the outsourcing. Train Americans to do the work in the new sectors. These investments will pay back in the mid and long term. Instead of taxing big oil companies demand that they re-purpose a big portion of their profits into alternative energy programs.
9. Build a real budget. If we zero base budget and create a true annual set of programs - and we need to raise taxes to fund these programs - I believe that Americans will rise up and pay up. We want as a people to do the right thing. We just want to know that our dollars are being spent the right way and that the budget is being created the way one creates their own family budget. It should be based on priorities and must-haves not nice-to-haves. I also believe that the President should call on Americans to do the right and honorable thing. Be straightforward with the asks. The country will respond in kind. Tell us what we will fund but also tell us what we will cut and why.
10. Whoever becomes President needs to conduct themselves in a manner so that you are BOTH needed and loved. I would blog daily as President. I would hold monthly meetings with the country and let the press listen in. I would create a communications connection that senses and responds and hears of issues early, perhaps via a people’s social network. I would focus on transparency and create a consumer cabinet that sits aside my professional cabinet so I never lose sight of real world issues. I would create a scoreboard on the deliverables promised and publish how we are doing against those metrics. And when we fall behind, create a sense of urgency to fix the issues and report on them publicly. As in all relationships, communication and listening are key. Caring about the major issues and hearing the signal instead of getting lost in the noise seems to be a real talent that we need from our leadership. Using the technologies and media available to us would be a huge first step in getting closer to a collective crowd-like sourcing to help our new President “get it” and lead us in a more efficient and able way.

Our new President needs to be able to hold a mirror up to America. He needs to create a huge tent for all of us to get under and believe in a basic way of life and a set of programs that we all sign up to regardless of our individual political leanings. We are at that time where ”if we don’t all hang together, we will hang separately.”