The Grand bargain project addresses six critical issues
Economic Mobility
The American Dream is increasingly out of reach
Climate Change
Increasingly destructive impact
Education
Most Americans lack the skills to get ahead in a high tech economy
National Debt
Rising at an unsustainable rate that could devastate our economy
Health Care
Most costly and inefficient system in the developed world
Tax Code
75,000 pages filled with perverse incentives
Why these issues have been impossible to resolve
Dysfunctional Political System
Elections structured in a way that enables candidates to win more easily by assailing the other side than by trying to bridge differences.
No Forum for Collaboration
Well-organized groups have more influence on Capitol Hill than a disorganized public, and all lack a forum for bridging differences
Exhausted majority
Most voters deplore today’s hyperpartisan politics and yet — because they have views all over the spectrum — they lack political power.
Loss aversion
Voters who fear they will lose ground from major reform fight against it much harder than potential beneficiaries work to enact it.
Strategy
The strategy that will overcome all four obstacles
Convene 100 advocates outside government whom voters in each sector of society trust to speak for them.
The advocates tackle all six issues simultaneously.
They can thereby generate enough benefits overall that each sector of society will gain far more ground than feasible by other means.
Project timeline
Key Phases of the Grand Bargain Project
A clear roadmap of our strategic approach to tackling the most pressing issues facing our society. By breaking down our project into distinct phases, we ensure focused efforts and measurable outcomes toward a unified goal.
Done: Proof of Concept
A team of high-profile policy experts presented us with a preliminary plan for resolving the six issues above so that all sectors of society will have far more opportunities to thrive.
In-Progress: Enlist 100 Advocates
50 whom voters from each sector of society trust to be their champion; 50 from organizations most politically active on the six issues. Invite them to meet in April to work out a detailed agreement that will benefit their constituencies far more than any alternative.
Convene the 100
Form six working groups, one for each issue, to find the solutions that will appeal to the maximum number of participants. The goal is not for each participant to accept each solution, but to see the overall package as far better for their constituency than any other alternative.
Messaging
Organizers help each advocate craft compelling, multi-media communications showing the people they represent how the grand bargain will vastly improve their families’ lives.
Mobilizing the Public
Grand Bargain Action Network and other
501(c)(4)s build voter support.
Center for collaborative democracy
Sponsor of the Grand Bargain Project. We strive to help every American reach their potential by working with business leaders, consumer advocates, labor unions, environmentalists, civil rights groups and other major stakeholders to develop innovative solutions for our nation’s most critical problems. We see that process as necessary to reduce the hyper-polarization that threatens our democracy.