Core Tenets

1.  AVOID BLANKET POLICIES

Many well-intentioned policies yield horrible outcomes. SB 54 (Declaring California a 'Sanctuary State') is but one example. Too often, the people harmed are the very ones this policy purports to want to help. 

An example of this was the murder of three young sisters and an adult chaperone who was supervising a parental visit at a Sacramento Church. The suspect had: a restraining order against him; previous threats of harm to himself and estranged girlfriend; and was out on bail (just five days after having been arrested for resisting arrest, battery on a peace officer, and driving under the influence.) He obtained the unserialized firearm illegally, as he was prevented from having one due to the restraining order. 

Read more about this horrific but preventable tragedy here. 

2.  IMPLEMENT 'PARETO POLITICS' FOR PRIORITIZING DECISION MAKING

The Pareto Principle is a time-honored premise that 80% of outcomes result from 20% of causes. So instead of implementing blanket 'all-or-nothing' policies, craft ones that devote resources to the most urgent 20% of any given problem. 

For immigration, this means leniency for law-abiding immigrants, but fervently seeking out/deporting the 'bottom' 20% who are engaged in behaviors that are detrimental to ALL of society. 

3.  USE THE 'HOW TO GET TO 10' METHOD OF BIPARTISANSHIP

There are many ways to get to 10 on a number line.  

     3 + 7  = 10
     6 + 4  = 10

     0 + 10 = 10

Policy-makers should keep this model in mind during negotiations. Are you clinging to Party (and the donor dollars that brings) over people?

If we learned anything from  the RESPONSE to Covid, it's that zero-based policies don't work. Holding on to the monkey fist of certitutde ends in self-defeating stalemates. 

I favor the  3 + 7 = 10 for issues you care deeply about. Release the all-or-nothing attitude and take a step or two inward to find common ground to effect solutions most can live with. Then work in other ways (i.e., with private-sector partnerships or technology) to close the remaining gap.

One example of this is Climate Change, where the City of Phoenix partnered with Arizona State University for a 'Cool Pavement' program to simply overlay an asphalt treatment that helps lower surface temperatures by reflecting, not trapping, radiant heat.  You can learn more here. 

4.  FISCAL STEWARDSHIP IS PARAMOUNT:

Do NOT act like the budget is a bottomless wellspring of money. That money came from us -- hard-working taxpayers. If there's a surplus, it means politicians overcharged us (or didn't plan well), and that money should go BACK to taxpayers -- not be hoarded as a slushfund for future pet projects. 

Politicians need to make spending decisions based on stewardship, and act as if they are spending their own money ... instead of going on a shopping spree with Great Aunt Alice's credit card. 

I'm old enough to remember when the California State Lottery got passed by voters in 1984. It was touted as a means to end education-funding woes. Instead, it glaringly proved that no matter HOW MUCH money bureaucrats get, it will never be 'enough.'  They will ALWAYS find new ways to spend it without ever being held accountable for the lack of results. You can learn more about this concept (Thomas Sowell's 4-Stage Technocratic Cycle) here. 
 

POLITICIANS ON *BOTH* SIDES OF THE AISLE NEED TO REMEMBER THAT
'WE THE PEOPLE' ARE APEXED AT THE TOP, AND THAT THEY SERVE US!