Chicago's 49th Ward is the first U.S. government to let the people make their own budget, following a practice begun in Porto Alegre, Brazil over twenty years ago.
It's got to start somewhere, do you think it'll spread?
__________________ "Every daring attempt to make a great change in existing conditions, every lofty vision of new possibilities for the human race, has been labeled Utopian."
I wish it would spread. I don't know how realistic it is to think it will, though.
There were a lot of Pavlovian phrases in her interview that will set people off. Phrases like, no one checked immigrant status, 17 year old chairing a committee, language barriers, successful in South America, etc.
Yes, apparently there is a lot of illegal immigrants involved in this programme, however, that shouldn't negate it's importance and efficiency.
__________________ "Every daring attempt to make a great change in existing conditions, every lofty vision of new possibilities for the human race, has been labeled Utopian."
So the 49th ward gets direct democracy and they spend it on:
Murals and artistic Bike Racks.
I liked the idea until I saw that in the vid.
If they had said that spending on, say, schools improved by 30% or something, I would have been like, "This is an awesome idea!" However, I do not think it is such a good idea, anymore. Also, I usually think murals are usually hideous and are an eyesores.
I knew someone was going to say that. But they weren't given the authority to vote on those things. In areas where people were, the vid says that school and health funding increased dramatically.
__________________
Graffiti outside Latin class.
Sed quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
A juvenal prank.
They were given, what, $1.3 million and they spent it on murals? Even if they weren't given the authority to spend it on schools...isn't there a billion better things to spend it on other than artistic bike racks?
__________________ Recently Produced and Distributed Young but High-Ranking Political Figure of Royal Ancestry within the Modern American Town Affectionately Referred To as Bel-Air.
Or fixing up the mall. That place is, like, so run down.
__________________ Recently Produced and Distributed Young but High-Ranking Political Figure of Royal Ancestry within the Modern American Town Affectionately Referred To as Bel-Air.
KMC Community Forums
Dec 7th, 2010 07:28 PM
