We need consensus building not just compromise.

From my friend Ronald Batdorf

We need consensus building not just compromise.

We know from science that changes between steady states in natural law come at predetermined tipping points but to understand these tipping points we have to know what we are looking for as the end result. However, getting to the end results doesn’t require us to have the same exact methods or process solutions on how to get there. Cutting taxes or increasing spending without the end effect or steady state in mind is incomprehension able for any political leader (Democrat or Republican). Seeking a steady state for our nation or the world as we cannot ignore we are in a globalized economy should be the first order of business by our political leaders. What actions members of the global enterprise do usually effects other members even if we rarely are aware of it at the time of the actions (note China’s decision to keep their currency value low for years but when did it start to hurt our economy instead of help it?).

I know firsthand working with a government agency, i.e. USAID office in Haiti 16 years ago their goal was to spend money as quickly as possible to boost local economies. One of the examples in Haiti was to buy wheel barrels and shovels for Haitian citizens and paying them a few dollars a day to move garbage from one spot to another. This didn’t get rid of the garbage and the budgeted $50 million dried up in a short time span. Bottom-line for Haiti is their steady state didn’t change. As an engineer on the military Joint Task Force we had proposed to USAID a simple way to build community composts (most of Haiti’s garbage is organic waste) that then could be used as fertilizer which was desperately needed in this country. This plan was rejected by the agency because their focus was simply on moving money in the economy as quickly as possible.

I see this same mentality today with our current politicians. Cutting taxes and/or spending money without the end state consensus is not going to get us out of this dilemma. We need politicians to stop pointing fingers and considering compromises but instead focus on multiple solutions for a steady state of our economy that isn’t a recession or a depression. We can get to these dire steady states without consensus… just continue to compromise and kill any hope for our future. Compromise only can build trust when the end goal between the members is the same (consensus). We don’t want to gas up the car just to drive down the block we need to drive this country and the world back to work. God knows there are plenty of problems for us humans to solve so let’s get to work.

Ron Batdorf