Future's Vision - The Third Part of Freedom's Vision...

A. EDUCATION. None of the following programs will succeed without a sound and well financed education system, one that funds not only the sciences, but also the arts, music, and sports in addition to the three R's. Many resources are wasted in education at the fringes and in trying to force "a square peg through a round hole." By that we mean that every person on the planet learns differently, thinks differently, has different aptitudes, and has different likes and dislikes. This is what makes us humans and not computers.

Individualism is our STRENGTH, not our weakness. We spend billions forcing people to conform to a set of standards that may or may not work for THEM. Thus we have created this special program and that special program, we label kids weak in this or that and then we set about frustrating them by forcing them outside of their aptitudes instead of advancing them inside of their aptitudes. While strengthening your weaknesses is a good thing in limited degree (and especially when children are young), true happiness will be found pursuing that which YOU love. That pursuit, in aggregate, is a benefit to society, it is the NATURAL order of things.

Henry Ford would not have advanced auto manufacturing by forcing assembly line workers to all pass tests in upper level mathematics. That simply would have been a wasted effort. Not everyone is an Albert Einstein, but those who are need to be encouraged to go as far as they can! Everyone needs to understand basic math concepts, yes, but not everyone needs to pass the same upper level standards in every category, that's a ridiculous notion.

In other words, schools need to be supported financially, but they must refocus by reinstating the arts, music, athletics, and by letting go of the dream that every individual is going to excel at math or reading - literacy yes, get them while they are young and make everyone literate with language and basic math (and understanding money). However, as children age a great percentage of your energy can easily be spent getting the last 5% of ability out of a person in a field they don't like and don't have aptitude in.

Instead, how about designing an educational system that finds a person's aptitude and allows them the freedom to excel in that? Their natural abilities lifting them high above the abilities of other nations who struggle to fit the square peg into the round hole. Sure, their collective math scores may be high, but are they spinning off geniuses, new technologies, and the leaders of tomorrow?

We must ask ourselves, do we want to raise robots who regurgitate information like computers, or do we want to encourage individuals to be scientists, artists, athletes, inventors, innovators, business owners, leaders and politicians? When was the last time you heard a child say that they want to be an astronaut when they grow up?

By the time a child is hitting middle school, their aptitude should be coming out strongly and can be tested. Tracks can be developed at a young age and should be encouraged, but of course freedom to a person to change tracks must be kept in place.

One idea is to leverage communications technology to create an online school that could enrich BOTH weak students and strong students by allowing them to receive more direct remedial training, or to allow naturally talented children to advance faster and farther into subjects of interest and talent. This would create a more efficient system, one that would bring up the low end and rise up the upper end.

And so a chance to reform the economy would be incomplete without reforming education and ensuring that it is well financed and capable of creating the talent that will be required, especially in the science fields of tomorrow.

The teaching of money management concepts is weak at best. This must be a part of any reform if we expect people to be responsible as well. Business and economic schools at the highest levels are teaching pure fantasy and myth, ignoring the way the real world and markets work. Thus in the economic leaders of today we find that the more education one has, the less they understand the real world and the more their ideas and concepts are based in mathematical fantasy. This must change, as a nation we can take responsibility and begin by setting a good and honest example. We start by creating honest money and we report honest statistics. We remove commercial influences from our system and then the truth will find its way into the upper reaches of the Universities.

Thus we would recommend that during this transition that a team of education experts (Transitional Education Panel - TEP) be assembled with a mandate to design a system that emphasizes individuality, the arts, and with special emphasis on creating the scientists and economic leaders of tomorrow. This team's suggestions then need to be implemented and financed. While large changes are being made in other areas, money for education should be considered the seeds of the future economy that work in concert with the other programs outlined below.

Thus, a sum equal to one year's entire educational budget should be provided at the beginning of the transition period to implement the panel's suggestions and to sow the seeds of our collective futures. Money will be made available to cover their recommendations, such funding will primarily come from separating out corporate interests in other areas of the budget. This represents a reordering of national priorities and goals and is simply step one in fulfilling our mission.

B. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY - Energy is the lifeblood of a productive economy and is a future crisis that cannot be ignored to the detriment of our financial ability and future security. Therefore, the Department of Energy should be disbanded and replaced by a new Department of Energy whose focus is the advancement of energy technologies. This department will be funded separately from the primary budget and from the IP, although it will still run through Congress for oversight and direction, keeping in mind again the rules separating corporations from State (Key new concept of private/ public partnership follows).

Two trillion dollars will be placed in a Special Energy Development Account (SEDA) to be used as SEED money for scientific research and development. Top scientists will be hired for this "man on the moon" public/ private project to help develop direction and to set goals. It will be run by someone with CEO level skills given direction to find economically viable energy sources both in the medium and in the long term. Thus, what most people now consider "green energy" would be medium term, whereas long term research would be further out on the leading edge (fusion, zero point energy, etc.). Energy return on investment (EROI) in concert with its impact on the environment must be paramount concerns, especially in the medium term. Longer term projects will be more risk filled.

Programs may not be funded that have low odds of having a high EROI. Thus, programs that subsidize other industries, like ethanol does to corn, shall be avoided by having the DOE advance industries it considers to be viable based on scientific knowledge, not based on special interest lobbying efforts. Once the DOE identifies potential segments of private enterprise partners, they will approach the industry with RFPs (Requests for Proposal) with profit sharing contracts spelled out clearly in advance. Technology developed by DOE belongs jointly to the People of the United States who funded it and developed it along with private enterprise partners.

As successes with new technologies are created they are deployed across the U.S. and marketed commercially around the world. Profits will be shared with private enterprise in proportion to the amount of capital provided. Sales of the technology would belong in proportion to the DOE for a period of 10 years, after which all proceeds, technologies, and any remaining patent life would be transferred to the private businesses in proportion to their capital contribution to that technology. All transfer of new energy technology overseas will be sold for profit as a product of the United States of America. Proceeds from the DOE's share will be funneled back to the SEDA account and used for further research.

Technologies can be purchased from overseas, but profit sharing partners may not be located outside of the United States, or more than 30% owned by companies outside of the United States.

Please note the way this plan interacts with other areas. For example, if breakthroughs are made with nuclear fusion, then very large advancements in our electrical infrastructure will be needed. This is how these programs work together to create meaningful jobs and advancement.

Make no mistake! This is a race that is far more important than was the goal to put man on the moon! Should we fail to be the first country to produce a safe and reliable source of energy like nuclear fusion, then the country that does will literally have a huge advantage over the rest of the world. We MUST not continue to drift rudderless, WE MUST be the ones to bring these technologies to the world. We have got to get busy and focused!

C. DEPARTMENT OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH (DSR) - The future technologies required for energy independence will require science that is on the leading edge. The very survival of our country and of the entire human species depends upon our advancement of science and technology. The answers to plentiful and environmentally friendly energy may very well be found in the quantum science realm or in the way that the quantum world and the larger universe interact.

Therefore, theoretical science needs to be advanced in the same manner and in concert with energy science, or the breakthroughs may never come or may take far longer to achieve.

These projects will focus on both the large scale and the very small. We must understand how the quantum fields interact with the larger realms, how energy permeates the universe, influences gravity, and how to harness the boundless energy that surrounds us.

Yes, we MUST build larger particle accelerators and other very expensive instruments in order to unlock the mysteries of science. We have theories now that simply cannot be tested with current technology. How do we ever get there if we don't undertake this effort? We must if long term survival and advancement is our mission, our destiny.

If our money is backed by debt, it will never happen. We will simply tax ourselves in an ever expanding circle to feed the central banks their interest. We now have vast human talent and productive capacity that is going to waste, simply not utilized, under utilized, or deployed in counterproductive enterprise.

Therefore, a duplicate program, similar to the DOE's private/ public energy program will be funded during the transition period with seed money amounting to $3 trillion to be shared with NASA and with efforts to advance medical science as outlined below.

D. MEDICAL SCIENCE - The field of medical research must also be advanced in support of human kind and even our species ultimate survival. We need to redouble our efforts to understand the complexities of life and how to prevent and cure disease.

Socialized programs do not thrive over time as the monetary incentive does not exist to push research and to advance development. Therefore, a significant portion of the DSR seed money should partner with private enterprise to undertake projects that will not be done otherwise. Seed money can be provided INTEREST FREE and can subsequently be recovered in the same manner described above with free enterprise ultimately running with the technology and the people of our nation once again leading the world in advancement and benefits for man kind.

Again, as technologies are sold throughout the world, seed money is recovered, in this way we are exchanging REAL productive efforts for other products from around the world, not simply exchanging paper for other's products.

E. NASA - Our collective survival may depend upon understanding and protecting ourselves from natural phenomena in space. Thus, the same partnerships will be created with NASA who will also be given a share of DSR seed money in a similar manner.

The mission of NASA will focus primarily on space, but with more focus on working in concert with the DOE and DSR to establish new technologies and instruments that will lead to an understanding of space/time and how they interact with energy and the other sciences. Other areas to focus on include our ability to detect and develop countermeasures against space objects and radiation, high speed low earth orbit transportation vehicles and hypersonic flight technologies and the alternative energies to propel them.

A benefit of these programs is that NASA, the DOE, and DSR will make all research facilities available to all private enterprise on a space-available basis, but will CHARGE an amount for facility use equal to the amount required to run the particular facility for the duration of experimentation. In this way research will be possible that was not possible before.

F. INFRASTRUCTURE - Like it or not, it has become the government's place to put infrastructure in place when that infrastructure is initially beyond that of private enterprise to implement. Thus we have built roads from ocean to ocean and even "highways" in the sky. And, we have advanced the human race in so doing.

Coming out of the 1930's, we saw the "New Deal" and we built much infrastructure to open America up for commerce. This is an appropriate undertaking when commerce can use it. But all infrastructure must be maintained. Experts today place the cost to repair and maintain this nation's existing infrastructure at a staggering $2.5 trillion - a sum, we note, that is far less than was recently used to bail out our paper chasing financial industry. Funny how debt is a problem when it comes to spending money on real things, but hardly mentioned in terms of throwing it at financial firms. Had the money been spent on correct items to begin with, and financial engineering been kept at a minimum, then today we would have infrastructure in good repair and a more sound financial system. Again, debt backed money does not support anyone's mission besides an anointed few.

It is possible to build so much infrastructure that commerce is pulled down due to carrying its costs! That is why, prior to undertaking new infrastructure projects, one must ask, "for what commerce?" Failure to ask that question will lead to bridges to nowhere that must then be maintained, further burdening the future with debt and carrying costs.

The Industrial Revolution is long over. Building relatively inexpensive trinkets no longer is a problem, but it won't continue without the cheap energy that got us here. Information is now spread very easily via the internet and that is getting better and faster (we must keep out of the way).

So, what is the infrastructure of tomorrow that needs to be built today in order that commerce can flourish?

A. The energy created by the programs explained previously will have to be transported. Thus an efficient and robust electrical grid is a must. The advancements in electrical power and control are coming at breakneck speed. This is another area where building such a grid may be out of reach of private enterprise and perhaps a joining of government and private enterprise here is a way to get it going. Again, the government can provide seed capital in the same manner as the energy research and DSR described above. The government would temporarily "own" a portion of the grid, and would be repaid from its use over time, but the grid would be turned over to the private partners at the end of the repayment period. This NO INTEREST repayment is the "tax" that pulls the money back out of the system, leaving the infrastructure in place (same with other seed money mentioned above).

B. Much energy is wasted in our transportation system. Once near or in our cities, automobiles and trucks WASTE their time and energy in stop, start motion. Much of that need not occur with the proper applications of technology. For example, "dumb" stop lights that are out of synch or stop traffic with no other traffic near. Vehicles could be seen coming and the driver's intentions known. Efficiency computers could then manage traffic by communicating those intentions along the way. This should be done, again, in concert with private enterprise as described above and should be preconceived to work in concert with the "smart grid" as it is installed. Communication occurs over these very same power lines. This effort would lower energy consumption and would pay for itself quickly, but cannot be undertaken entirely by free enterprise as governments own the current infrastructure and must be involved in making the system as efficient as possible. Thus the capital needs to be made available at NO INTEREST to "Seed it."

C. Much upper level education is now occurring online, but very little State financed education, and lower level teaching, is. Instead of having all schools teach all students to the same level, students who are lagging or leading can and should be able to access online educational programs to strengthen their weaknesses or to promote their strengths. The aforementioned Transitional Education Panel should also be tasked with figuring out ways to leverage the power of modern communications and implementing them into all programs. Funding for this infrastructure should be a part of their Transitional Education monies.

D. The next frontier to conquer is indeed space. There will be commercial uses for space, especially in terms of energy and raw materials. If we fail to build the infrastructure necessary to get in and out of space easily, then we will be doing the human race a huge injustice and possibly setting future generations up for failure. Survival is a powerful and natural driving force, one that should not be ignored, it should be fostered. Throughout the history of mankind people have been willing to put their lives on the line to explore new frontiers, future generations will be no different. The instinct is sound and humankind is well served by those who put their very existence on the line in the name of exploration. Again, if treated like a business, a mission statement will be developed with sub-goals. In this way, practical technologies act as stepping stones to more exotic ones. For example, the concept of a space elevator doesn't sound that far out of reach and would be a huge stepping stone to making real progress in other areas.

The confluence of scientific knowledge gleaned in energy and other scientific research IS going to lead to breakthroughs in our ability to progress beyond the planet. This is NOT pie in the sky, this a necessary step for humanity, it is our destiny, we will not fail to do so.

Since this exploration is so vastly more difficult than other human endeavors, it will take more time to achieve commercial success, but commerce will follow. We cannot lose our dreams and vision in this regard, it MUST be supported and the infrastructure to take the first commercial steps in space must be taken.

E. Critical and long term thinking in regards to transportation is lacking. There are great advancements yet to be made in all categories of transportation from high speed rail, to electric powered vehicles, all the way to hypersonic aircraft capable of low earth orbit. We are NOT at the end of the line in regards to transportation, we are on the verge of tremendous advancements, but we must get working on energy and the means to transfer that energy now.