How about a competition, or a goal to bring counties to be as self sufficient as they can be? Local water, local power, local farmers, local schools, local furniture, local housewares, local building supplies. Local and proud of it. Local and can prove it. Local and better for it.
This could unite both across the party lines, it could unite city and country, it could provide jobs for all involved. I find the dichotomies often laid out by the political parties to be harmful– lets rally around something together. Might building and believing in our community, in our county, be a way forward?
Some things would still come from outside– electronic signals over the Internet and some gadgets and probably cars– but we could minimize those things to a very small percentage of the economy. Money that was spent in the county would be spent again inside the county. Money would pass from person to person providing a high GCP, or Gross County Product.
Suddenly everything would need to be provided, and provided by people you know or might know soon. Your fellow citizens making dishes, books, fixing the roof. Running the bank, running the store, owning the store, owning the bank.
What would it take? I think as little as focusing on the goal. Can every county do it? No, some are over populated like San Francisco county, some are too underpopulated, but we might find that many are just right.
This could be good fun and build a healthy community and county. It would be exciting to try.
Maybe a competition? What are the rules and the metrics? Do we do a certification with progressive levels like the certifications of the greenness of buildings?
Thanks for proposing this idea. It is so much better than the current system which is draining resources from the region.
As a first item, I think we should establish goals. Examples such as, 35% of the food souurced locally within five Years, or 50% of the power or clothes produced locally within five years.
Lawrence
Master Sebastopol Grange .