10/21/2011 [email protected] writes: Replies below in BF
2) How do we get (induce, cajole, threaten, whatever) the media into educating the public rather than simply feeding the public a load of bull day in and day out? Gotta create a news station of that sort that can pull away viewers. Ratings are king. This was and is the "Fox strategy," in that case, providing a conservative alternative to the Left bias of the MSM No problem with this idea ; we could really use a Radical Centrist news station / network. 100 % in favor of the idea. But how do we get there ? What are the steps ? Seems to me that what is needed is a budget for a group effort like this. There is only so much that volunteer effort can do. At some point we are talking about investment. A station costs money. Serious $$ Don't even try to tell me that it can all be done on the cheap. You need serious production value or else hardly anyone will watch / listen. If you hit on a really catchy idea --basically a 10 minute "commercial" -- there is a chance it could go viral on You Tube, but that takes real inspiration. And there is no guarantee. Otherwise you need, for starters, a "show" format that people would take part in, week after week. For free ? C'mon. For a while, maybe. And it isn't only on-screen content people, you need all the other staff, especially tech people, and they aren't cheap. And you need good visuals, without good visuals may as well not even start. NEWS FLASH : TV is a visual medium. That is you also need creative talent. Unwilling to consider all of this ? Then you aren't serious and cannot be taken seriously. OK, where is the RC Foundation to apply to for grant funding ? Much the same thing, is there anyone "out there" who may have the interest and want to see something like this take shape ? Could we create a site with just this purpose --getting money-- and have the effort not waste everyone's time getting nowhere ? That is, are we ready for something like this ? I think we agree that this is needed but there are all those pesky steps between now and that time in the future when this can actually come about. We could use a business manager. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- 3) How do we get (incentivize, cajole, etc) the multitudes to cease and desist believing in obsolete theories of economics? Develop a competitive, cohesive economic alternative. The ingredients are there for a consistent centrist position, but we need to identify the central thoughts, back them up with some empirical data, and create general agreement among centrists to defend the position. Yeah, much needed. Not the least disagreement. Again, saying there is a need and actually getting to where we need to go, two different animals. I think one of the center's weaknesses is that it holds a (sometimes fair) reputation for wishy-washiness. We need to address all problems in some meaningful way while pointing out that we're not "non- partisan", we're "supra-partisan". Our first goal is to get things right, independent of all that ideological/rhetorical fluff, and we don't avoid issues just because they're sticky. I say "all problems" because people aren't going to take our economic message seriously if we keep conveniently pushing off other divisive issues as irrelevent. Everything needs to be on the table, and everything needs to be empirically defensible. True enough, but OTOH, we are at least part way there. The discussions we have had at RC.org sometimes are quite informative as well as spirited. Of course, little is systematized, but how detailed does anyone have to be ? A good but generalized statement of principles might be more than enough to have something for "Show and Tell." I mean, think of the economic "platforms" of the candidates for 2012. Mostly rhetoric, and anything but air tight and seriously thought through. Cain's ideas may be the worst but no-one else's can be taken all that seriously, either. How about open season for suggestions for principles for an RC economics ? Principle by principle. The idea would be ideas we could critique in the group. Eventually put together a set of principles, maybe, like the Supreme Court, with Dissents. Lots of good ideas here but the main caution is that there has never been much interest in sustaining "projects" like this. Personally, it isn't anything that I could spend much time on, way too over-committed with other things. Ernie would say the same, I am fairly certain. So, let's keep a sense of realism. What is actually possible ? Billy -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org
