the process
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intro
We Must Do Now for the American People and Our Democracy to Thrive
Whoever wins the upcoming election, the two parties are nearly certain to deadlock over how to resolve our country’s chronic problems. These problems will therefore grow worse.
Understandably, most Americans are deeply worried or very angry about their future, so that various media, politicians and institutions can easily stoke voters’ hostility toward one another. The result: 33 percent now believe that violence is justified to advance their political views.
To reverse these trends of growing socioeconomic ills, political dysfunction and public rage, the Center for Collaborative Democracy (CCD) has launched the Grand Bargain Project.
It is designed to unite most of the country around a practical plan to advance six objectives that 90+ percent of Americans see as critical to their families’ future:
- Boosting economic mobility and growth
- Reforming education so students reach their potential
- Making healthcare more effective and less costly
- Powering the economy with clean energy
- Curbing the national debt
- Making the tax code fairer and simplerAs things stand, each policy in these areas was enacted to satisfy some voters, interest groups and politicians at one point in time. The laws thereby contradict one another, severely limiting their effectiveness.
To break this pattern of dysfunctional policymaking, we commissioned a diverse team of former federal officials and think tank leaders (see our Policy Team) to work out common-sense reforms in all six areas that, when combined, would significantly improve every American’s prospects.
Each person who has seen the experts’ report has found parts they disliked, yet nearly all have agreed that the total package would be better for their own families and the entire country than our current direction.
Still, we are constantly updating the original plan with input from the public, civic leaders, and major stakeholders in the six areas.
We are also developing tools to show Americans from all walks of life how that evolving grand bargain would enable their families to thrive.
Our recent meetings with various grassroots organizations (described below) indicate that the public is very hungry for progress in these areas, enough so that support for the evolving plan could grow exponentially in the next six months. By then, a historically divisive election will likely lead to record discontent and unrest. If the new Congress and President want to avert chaos, their most practical path would be to embrace a grand bargain that the public increasingly supports.
To make maximum progress this year, the Grand Bargain Project is unfolding in three phases:
The Process
Proof of Concept
Phase 1
To gauge the potential velocity of support for the grand bargain described above, we led a session at the Braver Angels national convention in June. The 31 attendees ranged from very liberal to very conservative. None expected to see major progress on any of the six issues in the next two years.
We then explained the grand bargain’s purpose: To enable each American to gain major ground in the areas critical to them — in return for accepting that people with different priorities will gain just as much.
Next, we presented a summary of the evolving plan. Thirty of 31 agreed that the total package would advance their top priorities further than they had thought was possible just minutes earlier.
They then deliberated enthusiastically over potential ways to improve the original plan. At the session’s end, 14 said they wanted to help start a national movement by holding similar events at their local chapters.
Building a Grassroots Movement
Phase 2
Our experience at Braver Angels inspired leaders of several high-profile civic organizations to help build us that national movement at an exponential rate. The leaders fully agree with our premise that:
If these ills persist, most Americans will keep growing angrier, further eroding our democracy.
There appears to be no alternative way to make major progress on these six critical problems.
Online meetings about the grand bargain would thereby be a unique opportunity to turn the public’s fear and anger about our economy, our environment and our politics into a movement for positive change that would enable the American people to thrive.
To reinforce these messages, APCO Worldwide and Mercury LLC are recruiting top influencers from government, media, arts, business, faith community, youth and popular culture to publicly support the project.
We will also use social-digital media to reach the 100+ million citizens who long for progress in the six areas, but feel powerless to affect change — the so-called “exhausted majority.”3 Our typical message:
If a significant number of us now unite around a common-sense grand bargain, we would become a movement that anyone with similar aspirations would have every reason to join.
Mobilizing the Public to Act
Phase 3
As the grassroots and media activity gain traction, our affiliated 501(c)4 Grand Bargain Action Network will start to broadcast messages such as:
For the grand bargain to help our families to thrive, we need to tell policymakers how strongly we support it.
The organizations with incentives to spread that message include those promoting economic mobility, quality education and healthcare, environmental sustainability, strong democracy and fiscal responsibility.
Expected Outcomes and Impact
Outcomes
• A critical mass of Americans, influencers, stakeholders, governors, mayors and former policymakers will increasingly unite around the grand bargain as a necessary roadmap for our country’s future.
• The next Congress and Administration — likely facing record discontent and unrest — could win much wider public support by endorsing the grand bargain.
• The economic and environmental reforms that the American people need will then have far greater odds of being enacted than by any other strategy to date.
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