Contest! SEIU offering big prizes for suggestions on the economy

[eridani]

You may already be a weiner!

http://www.cafepress.com/meatshirt05

Well--joking aside, I got the following email today--

Inspired by your commitment to the cause of economic justice, we took a risk and launched a new project earlier this month: Since Sliced Bread. Our goal was to create a national conversation about how to fix the economy and to give ordinary Americans the chance to offer their ideas. And the crazy thing is, it's working.

Conservatives and liberals are arguing over economic policy, and everyone has a say. It really is an open forum--in just over two weeks, more than 2,500 Americans from all walks of life have submitted ideas to SinceSlicedBread.com, and we've even heard from Rush Limbaugh himself.

http://www.SinceSlicedBread.com

Sure, some people are entering their ideas to get a piece of the $200,000 we're offering in prize money (that's how serious we are!), and who can blame them? But I also know that many folks are simply answering the call to strengthen our economy and improve the day-to-day lives of working men and women and their families.

The American economy has stopped working for everyday Americans, and we both know that this problem is bigger than political parties, and bigger than elections. It's at the very base of what we are as a country. We need to find a way to make sure that work in America is valued and rewarded again.

PurpleOcean.org members are some of the best thinkers I know, so we're looking to you to come up with policy ideas that will help make the American Dream, and the promises of a new economy, a reality for American workers. We're not looking for a lot of details; in fact, there's a 175 word limit - that might be the biggest challenge for some of us!

http://www.SinceSlicedBread.com

Although Since Sliced Bread is a fun contest, the point is to have a serious policy impact. A panel of national experts will select the top 21 ideas, and then the public will vote. The grand prize is $100,000 plus our commitment to work to make that idea a reality. Early next year, we'll publish a book featuring all 21 finalists and their organizational affiliations.

Which one of you will represent PurpleOcean.org in that book? Start thinking now and submit an idea this week:

http://www.SinceSlicedBread.com

Thank you again for the inspiration and confidence you've instilled in us. As PurpleOcean.org members, your willingness to go the extra mile has demonstrated in a very real way that the most effective tactics for improving our country won't come from a few important people in DC. They'll come from us.

I can't wait to see what we come up with.

Andy Stern,
SEIU President

[RepublicanElephant]

1. suggestion #1...

"fix" 22nd amendment, then replace dubya with bill clinton.

[Joe Chi Minh]

2. Business leaders, indeed all the leaders of society,

need to be made to understand that they are not "citizens of the world", like Murdoch, as far as their assets are concerned - on sale to the highest bidder, but rather citizens of America, the country which enables them to amass their wealth; that they are merely stewards of their assets on behalf of the American people - albeit stewards in receipt of enormous compensation, whatever the political climate.

They need to be made aware that their duty to themselves and to their families must always be seen within the context of their responsibilities in terms of the welfare of the wider community, just as in a time of total war. This is actually central to the Christian faith, to which many of them claim allegiance (if not indeed to all the mainstream religions).

Pursuant to this, a ceiling should be put on the remuneration of the top earner in a company, in terms of a much more modest multiple of the median remuneration of rest of the workforce.

This was one of the principal factors which enabled Japan to recover so spectacularly from the devastation of WWII, and ironically was imposed by McArthur. Primarily, I think, to get a grip of the militarists and nabobs who were largely responsible for the fiasco. Nuff said!

[eridani]

3. Kick for the Friday swing shifters n/t