Everyone preaches the virtues of diversity, and I agree. Diversity provides strength to our culture and its institutions, enriching us all with new thoughts, ideas and traditions. But diversity becomes a liability when we seek to impose a one-size-fits-all solution to the multiple and varied problems we face as a society. With that in mind, Im beginning to see a trend. Our public education system is broken and the only solution offered by the status-quo politicians from both major parties is to spend more tax money to expand and enrich the current system. Our health care delivery and payment system is broken and the only solution offered by the status-quo politicians from both major parties is to spend more tax money to expand and enrich the current system. There is a better way. There are multiple better ways. Some involve spending money and some involve restructuring bureaucracies and re-evaluating priorities but all require a thoughtful, outside-the-box approach that puts outcomes first and remains focused on the patient/customer/consumer/student. We deserve so much more than what we are getting. We deserve meaningful relationships with doctors who know and care for us, and who are free to make medical decisions that are in our best interest and are based on their medical knowledge and training. We deserve competitive pricing for healthcare, and the ability to shop for price as well as for quality. We deserve a rich and varied menu of schooling options for our children. We deserve schools that are child-focused and that allow teachers to truly connect and enrich the lives of their students. It is long overdue that the poorest children be unshackled from their failing neighborhood schools and be given the same opportunities to get a quality education as kids who were fortunate enough to be born into better circumstances. The State of Washington spends nearly $10,000 per student per year. We can do so much better with that money. Im not an expert, and I dont have all of the answers, but I know that trying to fix all of our problems with a single approach is foolish and counterproductive. To make the necessary changes, the current system need not be dismantled. Current structures and institutions can and should be a big part of any educational or health care reform. However, current systems can and must be supplemented with new and innovative approaches. Its time we stop protecting institutions and established interests and start thinking about our children and what kind of world we want to leave them. We can and must do better, and its long past time we get going.
Posted on: Mon, 29 Sep 2014 22:28:16 +0000
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