Statement of the First Challenge
One of the most alarming developments in the American political landscape over the last 50 years has been the emergence of political gridlock … alive and well in the United States Congress. Gridlock is a consequence of evenly divided control of the legislature and a further factor - the presence of an unrelenting polarization of party attitudes and policy preferences which resistant to compromise and even to meaningful collaboration. When parties are about equal in Power– compromise becomes an essential tool for accomplishing anything legislatively.
In the face of serious problems that demand a solution – the inability of the Congress to formulate and pass solutions inevitably puts the American people at risk.
One perfect example of gridlock as it currently manifests is the unwillingness or inability of the U.S. Congress to defuse or eviscerate the Draconian sequestration bill which was implemented on March 1st of this year. Widespread agreement that the impact of the spending cuts elicited by the sequester will be seriously punishing for millions of people – including an aggregate loss of about 750,000 jobs, a reversal of economic growth with an assortment of cultural losses.
Apparently, there are several components that have elicited this solution-resistant gridlock.
The parties have different ways of analyzing the “problems” and challenges the country faces,
The parties have different visions of what the country should look like as a culture and as an economy,
The parties have different interpretations of the same data with Divergent perspectives on the solutions
most likely to be effective in addressing particular challenges, and
An apparent hostility towards the other party that justifies not listening to the ideas of the other and, by
implication, makes collaboration and compromise virtually impossible.
Our question for you is this: How do we “fix” the problem? By what mechanisms or procedures can we entice the combatants to work together and make demonstrably better quality decisions?
