Based on general public opinion, the most traditional way of winning an election is by playing to your most significant body of voters. Since the start of political factions, individuals have held biases toward their values and belief systems. However, G.T. Bynum decided to take a different route in 2016 and is now the mayor of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Instead of spreading false accusations, he told people what he wanted to accomplish while in office, and how he was planning to meet those goals.
I began considering the underlying question, "Shouldn't we have been doing this from the beginning if we wanted to accomplish important goals?" Replacing partisanship with policy seems to be the logical way of solving problems around the world. Mayor Bynum pointed out that people who focus on philosophical differences never end up solving any of the issues we face in our country.
Instead of arguing over topics that are seen at different levels of importance, if we were to focus on the issues that we can all agree, have value, we can set goals and work towards them. Eventually, accomplishing them and being better off as humans. For example, as Mayor Bynum explained in his TED Talk, if those agencies who are given government funding to solve problems in our cities are proven not to be effective, we should then reduce the funding for those programs. The money should then be put into applications that will benefit those in need, such as the homeless, therefore making the capital an effective way to solve a problem that everyone can agree is a much-needed action.
After listening to this TED Talk, I agree this approach is worth studying further. The use of data is a way to start creative problem solving rather than stifling creativity. Data gives us a solid understanding of what programs are effective, which can help break down partisanship. If leaders can together identify goals they want to achieve that are helpful to society, we then need to identify a measurement in which progress can be tracked. That would lead to finding ways to test the measures quickly and cheaply. Politicians must start to understand that they should be learning to work together to achieve a common goal.
G.T. Bynum appears to be putting his words into action, and Tulsa will be a city to watch in the coming years. If they can apply this philosophy towards increasing income and the population of their city, as well as increasing the graduation rate over several years, as he hopes to do, politicians across the country should take notice. We must take action quickly to solve the problems we face.
("A Republican mayor's plan to replace partisanship with policy")
Instead of arguing over topics that are seen at different levels of importance, if we were to focus on the issues that we can all agree, have value, we can set goals and work towards them. Eventually, accomplishing them and being better off as humans. For example, as Mayor Bynum explained in his TED Talk, if those agencies who are given government funding to solve problems in our cities are proven not to be effective, we should then reduce the funding for those programs. The money should then be put into applications that will benefit those in need, such as the homeless, therefore making the capital an effective way to solve a problem that everyone can agree is a much-needed action.
After listening to this TED Talk, I agree this approach is worth studying further. The use of data is a way to start creative problem solving rather than stifling creativity. Data gives us a solid understanding of what programs are effective, which can help break down partisanship. If leaders can together identify goals they want to achieve that are helpful to society, we then need to identify a measurement in which progress can be tracked. That would lead to finding ways to test the measures quickly and cheaply. Politicians must start to understand that they should be learning to work together to achieve a common goal.
G.T. Bynum appears to be putting his words into action, and Tulsa will be a city to watch in the coming years. If they can apply this philosophy towards increasing income and the population of their city, as well as increasing the graduation rate over several years, as he hopes to do, politicians across the country should take notice. We must take action quickly to solve the problems we face.
Citations:
"A Republican mayor's plan to replace partisanship with policy." TED, Feb. 2017,
www.ted.com/talks/
g_t_bynum_a_republican_mayor_s_plan_to_replace_partisanship_with_policy.
Accessed 16 Dec. 2019.
www.ted.com/talks/
g_t_bynum_a_republican_mayor_s_plan_to_replace_partisanship_with_policy.
Accessed 16 Dec. 2019.
Is there any evidence that Bynum has been successful in his work in Tulsa? Do you think that it is easy for people to agree on what is important? For example, you mention homelessness. I wonder if people would agree that it is the government's responsibility to help the homeless. What do you think?
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