tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4742385127651266632.post8876349900229097532..comments2024-01-07T12:13:21.793+00:00Comments on Craig Dearden-Phillips: Tough Choices AheadUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4742385127651266632.post-72597948280616763402009-10-26T09:22:19.388+00:002009-10-26T09:22:19.388+00:00Craig,
Where to start? For me so much comes down t...Craig,<br />Where to start? For me so much comes down to your final point - if we all considered ourselves as citizens we'd find it easier to take responsibility for our own actions in this society and take responsibility for the overall outcomes of decision-making by those we elect. <br />As consumers our views are merely dictated by the immediate impact of such decisions.<br /><br />This is why, for example, so many people won't care about social care users and personal budgets (as they see no impact on themselves, despite this being the way a developed society should 'engage' with those in need). I have to say, however, that I agree with most of your manifesto (will you be standing as an independent?) although do disagree with the 10% tax rate (we need to simplify and having three bands isn't simplifying - just increase the lower threshold).<br /><br />I believe that ultimately the way to get consumers transformed into citizens is through your People/Point 2 (voluntary/community service) - this would give more people more of an idea of what makes the world go round (rather than just the bits they interact with as a consumer) and would get more people more engaged. This has to be wider than just the big volunteering programmes - every business, society, organisation etc, from all of the private/public/social sectors need to think "how could I provide opportunities to interact, to support, to understand what we do". <br /><br />Now private sector organisations might have to think a little harder about what those individuals do (e.g. they could join their own CSR programmes) but this would even give businesses more opportunities to interact with citizens, who in turn would understand more about that 'sector'; the more we understand the more we can make better informed decisions about society as a whole (i.e. as citizens) rather than based on our own small slice. Before someone says what rubbish this is, how would it be, for example, if a corporate bodies volunteering programme was supplemented by some of their customers - organisational strength (and so efficent for everyone), good for the customer (easier to pick up and engage, and with being a customer of different organisations, plenty of choices), good for the business (opportunity to interact on a different level with consumers), good for the social sector organisation (more interaction with more parts of society).<br />This could be happening somewhere but, having been on both sides of that equation, I've not come across it yet - it remains a closed relationship - "what can we get out of that business" and "what can we get out of/put into that charity".<br />Just a thought.Andy Hickeyhttp://giveit.typepad.com/weblog/noreply@blogger.com