Locally Grown with Jim Fini
In my book, Locally Grown: The Art of Sustainable Government, I talk about how our country's bottom up design of 20,000 zip codes, 50 states and 1 Federal government, brilliantly distributes power within that bottom-up infrastructure. Our Founders intended most governance to be done locally. And about the inherent dangers of too much centralized power. My book exposes the unsustainability of our government debt and the awful bargain we make when we exchange freedom for security. I introduce readers to Locally Grown principles like sustainability, accountability, the double-bottom line, harnessing excess capacity, simplification, and engaged citizenship. I make the case that returning to our federalist roots through Locally Grown principles is the path to sustainable, effective government that better serves the “Common Good.”
Locally Grown with Jim Fini
Episode 41 - America is only as Good as its Public Schools
The definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing and expect different results. Much of recent American federal government policy seems to fit into this paradigm. Like let’s print a whole lot of money then act surprised when we get inflation. Or stop enforcing our immigration laws and be shocked when millions of foreign people including criminals, terrorists and those who don’t share our values, flood our southern border. I hope most of would agree that hyperinflation and more drug and sex trafficking on our streets are bad things. And yet policies from the current federal crew are encouraging exactly those things. I think the rub is that they do not expect different results. They want and expect these results because they think these policies will increase their power. Now that is not insane. All people act in their own self-interest, most of the time. That logic trail traces all the way back to Charles Darwin.
And so it is with our education policy. Our public schools seem to be getting worse, or at least not better. But the cost of the bad performance has outpaced inflation for decades. Why would we let the same people responsible for our diminishing public schools, be the ones to fix them? Now that's the definition of insanity.
United We Stand. Divided We Fall. Each One for the Other, and All for All.