Gathering Support
There is a great hunger for a way to turn money into a combination of (1) a government that works better and implements pro-growth, pro-humans-and-living-life, technically sound policies on the margin, and convincing politicians to stand up for this positive vision and (2) stopping Donald Trump and others who turn to election denialism and authoritarianism, of whatever flavor. There is also an increasing acknowledgement that goal (1), in addition to being valuable in its own right, is vital to securing goal (2).
It is also necessary for (3), enabling the economic dynamics and culture necessary to allow us to reasonably address an increasing array of things inside and outside of government. Growing the pie and returning to prosperity gives everything room to breathe, and everyone freedom to think.
I have found this hunger especially strong among those who have earned themselves quite a lot of money, only to find themselves in a world where they are implicitly told that they can only spend their new wealth in ways that do not matter - that they are helpless to turn it into the Doing of Things.
By focusing first on and funding first the non-campaign, fully non-partisan steps of getting the policy house in order and setting an actually effective and politically practical positive agenda in motion that would improve the lived experience of the average American, we can bring in support from those with an understandable reluctance to start funding zero-sum political fights and taking a public stance.
I believe there is tremendous leverage in ultimately going after the biggest cause of them all. One does not need either large odds of success nor anything like a full realization of ambitions to make the cause worthwhile many times over. While the problem may not seem tractable or neglected, I am arguing here it is both those; compared to the stakes, the problem is remarkably tractable and neglected even if you give people highly generous credit for trying. Once one digs further into the dynamics, it is all far more tractable and neglected than it looks. Nor does any of this seem out of place on reflection.
Another advantage of this approach is that it can all under someone’s ‘fund the universities and research and general neutrally good things’ money bucket, rather than having to go into a partisan political bucket. One can do this without ‘taking a side.’
That holds true whether one is donating money, spending time and lending one’s expertise and knowledge, or anything else. Once again, if you would like to assist this effort in any way, including being happy to answer questions about the areas you know best, do not hesitate to contact us at hello@balsaresearch.com or by filling out this Google Form. I’ve been overwhelmed by the quantity and quality of those reaching out so far, so it might be a bit before you hear back, but I will strive to get back to everyone as soon as I can.
In the short term, with this tsunami of people eager to get involved, the most valuable resource is my time. The biggest need is to find the right one or two people who can serve as force multipliers on my time, either via being a research assistant to whom I can offload intellectual subtasks and get to coordinate work, an executive assistant, or both. We also want to find people with experience in scaling research efforts so we can let experts contribute in the areas and ways they know best. If you are or think you know the right person for any or all of this, whether or not that person is you, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
