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Jul. 10th, 2007 12:01 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
holly_evolvingVerbatim from ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
grumpymonkey:
A Protest Proposal
FACT: Apathy among voters has been very high for the past 20 years. Public interest in the government has been eroded by scandals, corruption and a generalized feeling of powerlessness.
FACT: The Baby Boomers of the last generation fueled the growth of the federal government. They were a patriotic generation, disciplined and driven, with a firm belief in the justness of the American cause. Current workers are not interested in government service because they do not share the same values, and the government has had considerable difficulty maintaining pace with the salaries offered in private industry, as well as their image as ineffective bureaucrats. This hampers hiring efforts and
FACT: The Baby Boomers are reaching retirement age, and the federal government speculates they will need a massive influx of workers to replace them. According to a Partnership for Public Service survey, the feds will need to bring in 193,000 new hires to replace those retiring in the next TWO YEARS. Over 80,000 of those will be needed in the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security. More will be needed in the 5-10 years after that.
FACT: The federal government is running the highest deficit in history, due in part to the ongoing war in Iraq and offer efforts in the War on Terror. The reason for these conflicts, the eradication of those responsible for the attacks of 9/11, is still a concern but the execution is a source of debate and consternation for the American people and is damaging foreign perception of American motives.
FACT: Traditional protests (marches, sit-ins, letter campaigns, petitions, etc.) have become commonplace and ineffective as to be largely ignored by the popular media. Turn-outs are low, press generated is almost non-existent and the pressure applied to politicians is negligible. Protests against the war in Iraq have not rapidly changed public opinion, so that over 5 years and 3000 lives later, we are still in the same war. Politicians are split on the issue, as many are afraid to risk their reputations and jobs by taking a stand one way or the other. Non-traditional protests border on terrorism and fail to garner sympathy and support from the voter, instead alienating them further.
FACT: Other than our votes, the American people have little direct influence on our politicians. The electoral process does not allow for easy removal of non-performing representatives. Large contributors to parties and campaigns circumvent or corrupt the process so the voice of the people is drowned under the consideration of private interests. This corruption is one of the key contributors to voter apathy.
FACT: The federal government is in the process of privatizing as many jobs as possible, encouraging all of their agencies to consider how they can achieve cost savings through contracting private workers. This results in a smaller but even less accountable government, with the money going to large firms instead of directly to workers. This gives private firms even more opportunity to corrupt the system and grow the Old Boys’ Network.
FACT: Although it seeks to privatize as many jobs as possible, the federal government cannot contract out certain jobs, services or positions due to national security concerns, confidentiality or other sensitive reasons. Despite the opportunity to shrink costs in government, the actual number of workers will likely stay approximately the same, with some taking jobs in the ‘private’ sector while others must monitor and manage those workers from the government side.
SUMMARY: The American voter has little chance to change the system to favor protection of civil liberties and economic opportunity, while private firms continue to corrupt the system to their advantage. Protests don’t work because of popular perception that they cannot effect change.
PROPOSAL: A national boycott of federal employment.
DESCRIPTION: Boycott is a traditional form of protest usually directed at private firms. By turning public opinion against their products and reducing their income, the public leverages its economic power against the firm. As a company exists to make money, a loss is an indicator that it must change. In this way, the private citizen wields its power directly against the will of the company, forcing it to change in the ways the public favors. Government can be forced the same way.
As representatives of the people, politicians are supposed to be concerned with how they feel and what they wish for this country. Corruption circumvents this, substituting the politicians’ or special interests’ concerns over those of the populace at large. To reach these politicians and change their behavior, it has to be seen as clearly in their self-interest to do so. If a protest can be addressed and ignored, a politician will rapidly return to a business-as-usual behavior, depending on the advertising a special interest will buy for continued election to power.
Politicians utilize the powers of government agencies to effect change on the country. If those agencies do not have the ability to perform, they will be unable to deliver on what their special interest allies want. The American people can reach their politicians by causing them to lose their power. In the same way they can affect a company, the people can protest the government and actually have a considerable effect on their efforts.
Due to the nature of the protest, it can be maintained indefinitely, making politicians as accountable as we desire. If we hear the same old story and sound bites, we can continue the boycott until we see legislation we agree with.
grumpymonkey:A Protest Proposal
FACT: Apathy among voters has been very high for the past 20 years. Public interest in the government has been eroded by scandals, corruption and a generalized feeling of powerlessness.
FACT: The Baby Boomers of the last generation fueled the growth of the federal government. They were a patriotic generation, disciplined and driven, with a firm belief in the justness of the American cause. Current workers are not interested in government service because they do not share the same values, and the government has had considerable difficulty maintaining pace with the salaries offered in private industry, as well as their image as ineffective bureaucrats. This hampers hiring efforts and
FACT: The Baby Boomers are reaching retirement age, and the federal government speculates they will need a massive influx of workers to replace them. According to a Partnership for Public Service survey, the feds will need to bring in 193,000 new hires to replace those retiring in the next TWO YEARS. Over 80,000 of those will be needed in the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security. More will be needed in the 5-10 years after that.
FACT: The federal government is running the highest deficit in history, due in part to the ongoing war in Iraq and offer efforts in the War on Terror. The reason for these conflicts, the eradication of those responsible for the attacks of 9/11, is still a concern but the execution is a source of debate and consternation for the American people and is damaging foreign perception of American motives.
FACT: Traditional protests (marches, sit-ins, letter campaigns, petitions, etc.) have become commonplace and ineffective as to be largely ignored by the popular media. Turn-outs are low, press generated is almost non-existent and the pressure applied to politicians is negligible. Protests against the war in Iraq have not rapidly changed public opinion, so that over 5 years and 3000 lives later, we are still in the same war. Politicians are split on the issue, as many are afraid to risk their reputations and jobs by taking a stand one way or the other. Non-traditional protests border on terrorism and fail to garner sympathy and support from the voter, instead alienating them further.
FACT: Other than our votes, the American people have little direct influence on our politicians. The electoral process does not allow for easy removal of non-performing representatives. Large contributors to parties and campaigns circumvent or corrupt the process so the voice of the people is drowned under the consideration of private interests. This corruption is one of the key contributors to voter apathy.
FACT: The federal government is in the process of privatizing as many jobs as possible, encouraging all of their agencies to consider how they can achieve cost savings through contracting private workers. This results in a smaller but even less accountable government, with the money going to large firms instead of directly to workers. This gives private firms even more opportunity to corrupt the system and grow the Old Boys’ Network.
FACT: Although it seeks to privatize as many jobs as possible, the federal government cannot contract out certain jobs, services or positions due to national security concerns, confidentiality or other sensitive reasons. Despite the opportunity to shrink costs in government, the actual number of workers will likely stay approximately the same, with some taking jobs in the ‘private’ sector while others must monitor and manage those workers from the government side.
SUMMARY: The American voter has little chance to change the system to favor protection of civil liberties and economic opportunity, while private firms continue to corrupt the system to their advantage. Protests don’t work because of popular perception that they cannot effect change.
PROPOSAL: A national boycott of federal employment.
DESCRIPTION: Boycott is a traditional form of protest usually directed at private firms. By turning public opinion against their products and reducing their income, the public leverages its economic power against the firm. As a company exists to make money, a loss is an indicator that it must change. In this way, the private citizen wields its power directly against the will of the company, forcing it to change in the ways the public favors. Government can be forced the same way.
As representatives of the people, politicians are supposed to be concerned with how they feel and what they wish for this country. Corruption circumvents this, substituting the politicians’ or special interests’ concerns over those of the populace at large. To reach these politicians and change their behavior, it has to be seen as clearly in their self-interest to do so. If a protest can be addressed and ignored, a politician will rapidly return to a business-as-usual behavior, depending on the advertising a special interest will buy for continued election to power.
Politicians utilize the powers of government agencies to effect change on the country. If those agencies do not have the ability to perform, they will be unable to deliver on what their special interest allies want. The American people can reach their politicians by causing them to lose their power. In the same way they can affect a company, the people can protest the government and actually have a considerable effect on their efforts.
Due to the nature of the protest, it can be maintained indefinitely, making politicians as accountable as we desire. If we hear the same old story and sound bites, we can continue the boycott until we see legislation we agree with.