Betsy Philpott’s Post

From a Macro-Len... this is something that transcends the US - let alone Richmond - into the rest of the world... the shattered social contract of governments has gone from a low, yet escalating whine... to a high pitched scream. And this is before say, a serious multi-year recession The song has the underlying elements of the rise of candidates such as Trump. Love him, hate him... that's besides the point, if there were no serious structural issues songs like "Rich Men North of Richmond" would not be catching fire... Also frustrations around tax, incumbent interests, dated systems & processes... are felt across the spectrum from right to left... Its just that a lot of the incumbents who heavily influence the narrative - traditional media, now known as the click-bait media - tend to stay wrapped in an ideological theoretical reality, that everyone is on the same playing field, is equal, etc... hence its a simple case of income/wealth/resource distribution. Thats some serious Merry-Poppins sh!t... A bigger bucket (more tax) with holes (inefficiencies & waste), is still a bucket with holes... it solves no structural long-term issues #Trump #ShatteredSocialContract #WokeMedia #ClickBaitMedia #RichMenNorthOfRichmond #Incentives #Crypto #US2024Elections #Biden #Taxes #LackOfAccountability #LackOfTransparency

In order to further understand the importance of Juneteenth earlier this month, the Battelle AABLE employee resource group is hosting a conversation with Wil Haygood for our employees this week. Wil is an acclaimed biographer, Pulitzer finalist, award-winning author and reporter. Come learn the story of America through the lens of history, politics, sports, race and the lives of change-making African-Americans. https://okt.to/lQ4i30

"Our politics are too divisive and polarizing." "I'm tired of negative campaigning that just tears other people down." "Why don't our elected officials better reflect who we are as citizens, and what we truly want to see happen?" "Why do we have a system that encourages low voter turnout and rewards a full mandate to whoever gets 30-40 per cent of the support?" I'm sure I'm not the only one who has said these things many times since I was old enough to vote (many, many years ago). And today, I am excited to share that I am taking an active role in trying to change the system for the better as a member of the Board of Directors for Ranked Ballot Initiative of Toronto (RaBIT). RaBIT (https://www.rabit.ca/) is a non-partisan, independent, grass-roots, advocacy group working to bring ranked ballots to Toronto’s municipal elections. Ranked ballots work to find consensus, encourage participation, and ensure elected officials best represent the overall needs and wishes of their constituents. With a tremendous team of smart and dedicated volunteers, RaBIT can have a real impact in changing the electoral system to a more representative and collaborative approach. I can't wait to get started! #elections #electoralreform #politics