Who Should Read This Newsletter?
Americans and others who are concerned about the future of America.
Americans who want politicians of all parties to work together to reverse the decline of America.
Americans who want our representatives in government focused on “winning” for America not “winning” for their party and their donors.
What is This Newsletter About?
This newsletter is about win-win policy ideas. The Cambridge Dictionary says “[a] win-win situation or result is one that is good for everyone who is involved.”
Our current politics is mostly win-lose: one party wins; the other party loses; the people be damned. The losing party then works to undo or undermine whatever was passed. Two examples: (1) The Affordable Care Act — Democrats win; Republicans lose. (2) The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 — Republicans win; Democrats lose.
Win-lose politics fosters animosity, distrust, and deadlock. And, deadlock fosters cynicism among the public: Why should I participate in our politics when nothing gets done and nothing helps me and my family?
We can’t make progress in America with win-lose politics.
We need our democracy to be a win-win democracy, a democracy in which we strive for legislation that achieves important goals for all parties and delivers value for our people.
This newsletter explores win-win possibilities for important issues facing today’s America.
Getting Started Reading
Discussion of most topics spans multiple newsletter issues. If you’re a new reader it might be difficult to know where to start. That’s why there’s a new readers’ guide.
What Does the Newsletter Cost?
There is no monetary cost. But it is not free: I ask you to help build a community. Read; think; write comments; and invite your friends, relatives, and acquaintances to subscribe to the newsletter and to participate.
Just to be up-front about it, there may be a subscription fee in the future. I’m retired, so it won’t be because I need to earn money from the newsletter. But, I’ve read that charging a small subscription fee discourages internet trolls. We’ll see whether trolls becomes a problem.
About Me
I’m a retired computer scientist and executive. I have a Ph.D. in Computer Science and have published technical papers, built software products, and co-authored a technical book. As an executive at IBM, Microsoft, and HP, I have managed large, global teams and big budgets. I’ve also led product development in a ten-person startup, and have served as advisor and/or board member for several small companies.
Politically, I lean liberal and have always voted for Democratic or Independent candidates, sometimes enthusiastically and sometimes just to help defeat an awful candidate. If you’re interested in my personal beliefs, check out this blog post.
My business experience has taught me about economic reality and what makes businesses and industries succeed and fail and economies grow or stagnate. My liberal instincts are tempered by my business understanding.
As a white baby-boomer, I’m keenly aware that I’ve lived a charmed life. My family has been in America since the early twentieth century, arriving as immigrants from Eastern Europe. My financial success was made possible both by my ancestors’ willingness to take risks, work hard, and use their success to launch the next generation; and, importantly, by the tremendous opportunities America provided across three generations.
I want modern America to truly be the land of opportunity for many people. We won’t be that if our democracy is broken.
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To find out more about the company that provides the tech for this newsletter, visit Substack.com.
