1 AFTER THE FALL
My belief is that every citizen on earth is born with one responsibility, and that is to become self-sustainable as soon they are able.
I am writing this book, while most of the world population is hunkered down in self-isolation and social distancing to combat a pandemic virus that plagues humanity and the global economy. Some projections indicate that the death toll from this event can reach 200,000 or more. That is far more than the 58,000 US soldier deaths in the Vietnam War. The global catastrophe is of an unprecedented scale both in terms of human deaths and economic disaster.
In 2017, I published Regenerating America with Sustainable Economics by James A. George and James A. Rodger © 2017 Archway Publishing. My co-author is a mathematician and professor of management information science. My not being an academic and his not being an economist, academic publishers failed to embrace our work. Regardless, I forged ahead on the merit of my ideas and quality of analytical thinking.
My belief is that average citizens must engage society and government with their best ideas.
1. As a former business executive with a degree in business and operations research, I amassed considerable experience working for Fortune 500 companies, as an entrepreneur, and as a consultant to the Federal Government Enterprise.
2. I invented a process and practice called, New Business Engineering as an executive working for D. Appleton Company, a leading “business engineering
3. During my career, I held a position at UC Berkeley Worldwide as academic director, developing advanced management curricula for
4. I published hundreds of research reports and papers for government and academic clients, many of which were under peer review.
5. I was a principal consultant for the Federal Government Practice of PriceWaterhouseCoopers and a director for ManTech International.
6. Professor Emeritus and Economist, Dr. John Ikerd endorsed our work.
I am beginning this chapter as an overview of what is presented and recommended in our previous work and urge readers to read the books as it they contain deep explanations.
The first book that I published with Dr. James A. Rodger is titled, Smart Data, Enterprise Performance Optimization Strategy by James A. George and James A. Rodger © 2010 Wiley Publishing. “Smart Data,” describes a comprehensive strategy for government and private enterprise to build an advanced technology platform to support the national enterprise and to make it competitively superior in the global context. The book received high praise. Only the US Department of Defense made strides toward accomplishing the vision. Multiple Presidents failed to comprehend the significance, though many entities throughout the world get it. That is, they are making headway.
Maybe the next round of the economic stimulus package will address the need for renewable energy development and transformation away from fossil fuels in addition to repairing highways and bridges?
Why is the US so recalcitrant? It is because continuity in planning and engineering the future is lost in a turbulent and defective political system. It is because we have become a nation of takers, that is harvesting our assets and failing to prepare and invest for future generations.
An operational example of short-sighted mistakes includes this, for instance. During the current pandemic, Governor Cuomo said that New York hospitals are having trouble recruiting and seamlessly deploying volunteer medical professionals from out of his state. That is profoundly interesting because after 9-11, President Bush, with the bipartisan backing of Congress initiated the Emergency System for Advanced Registration of Volunteer Health Professionals. [1] The purpose was to pre-register medical professional’s credentials and to keep them current so that when an emergency arises, they could be deployed quickly. How do I know this?
I was the Program Manager for ManTech International managing the initiative for Health and Human Services. All of the states, their public health officials and attorney generals were represented as well as all of the leading professional health associations and organizations representing the medical professionals. The program took a year of work and produced a viable system. It was the first time in America that uniform standards were established for doctors, nurses, and behavioral health professionals. ESAR-VHP was successfully deployed for the Katrina Hurricane disaster.
I checked to see if ESAR-VHP is still alive and found a link on . gov. However, without advocacy and oversight by both the executive branch and Congress, great tools are left on the bench.
My book, Smart Data represented an advanced design for the US infrastructure that is languishing, today.
Because “great ideas” need political backing for their advancement, and as a patriotic citizen, I wrote another book, beginning in 2011 and not published until 2017. The title is How to Select an American President by James A. George and James A. Rodger © 2017 Archway Publishing. Why did I write that book?
The American political system is fundamentally broken. There are no standards for presidential candidates and other elected officials in Congress. There are no standards for political parties. Elections are ad hoc hogwash, as George Washington might have said. He was not a fan of the two-party political system.
I researched American history to understand the evolution of political parties. I traced the deviations and contradictions of the republic as it veered from the US Constitution evidenced by slavery, abuse of Native Americans, and discrimination against women and every other social group imaginable. I shared the findings succinctly in the book, citing sources and with academic attributions.
I reconstructed the resumes of all past presidents to see how they would have appeared to voters at the time of their election. I developed a job model of the President of the United States, the first of its kind. From that, I derived skill, knowledge, and experience qualifications and characteristics citing notable sources.
From that, working with graduate students at Indiana University, PA, I developed a system for reviewing, rating, and scoring candidate resumes. In a related blog, I expanded the process to include candidates for the US House of Representatives and the US Senate.
I tested the process and published scores for a host of Presidential candidates and posted them on the blog, on Facebook, and in articles to vet the process and to promote audience discussion. I may have reached 8,000 individuals in the process, far below what I had hoped.
Next, I wrote and published Regenerating America with Sustainable Economics by James A. George and James A. Rodger © 2017 Archway Publishing. I did that while I was still an active, independent journalist in Washington, DC with Examiner (National Politics Eaminer), CBS News and CNN credentials.
My aim was to explain that capitalism is unsustainable as we know it without major changes in the model. I proposed a new model that balances economic, social and environmental responsibilities. I call the new model the Optimized Sustainment Model. I urged all candidates from both major political parties to attend the subject. None responded.
Last, I wrote and self-published A President’s Manifesto © 2019 All Rights Reserved to demonstrate what citizens should expect as contents in political party platforms and individual candidate manifestos. I offered that eBook for free on request. It is not easy reading because a democratic republic is not a simple subject. I wonder if a democracy by the people is possible when citizens are too unwilling or unable to invest time to understand their responsibilities.
I submit that citizens are overburdened with work, trying to survive, without discretion to devote time attending the cherished necessity to engage their government.
My books make it easier for citizens catch up. I hope to reach the prospective leaders of the next generations to give them an advanced start at catching up, whereas the present leaders have left a deficit of knowledge, deficient plans, and topped with an enormous financial burden.
To where is this book headed?
I want to help my fellow citizens get a grip on a calamitous situation where our political and economic system is in disarray. Our institutions will respond to the situation as best they can. I know my fellow citizens will be resilient. However, the challenges are unprecedented and clear thinking will be needed to chart a new path.
It isn’t a matter of picking up the pieces and returning to normal. Before the pandemic, our systems were already broken, and the economy was ready to slow down. The election process was compromised, not just by foreign intervention, but by Citizens United and “big money” overwhelming the idea of one person, one vote. The next steps aren’t easy for individuals nor for the institutions on which they depend.
No comments:
Post a Comment