Back in the 1980’s during Mexico’s high inflationary years I had lots of experience writing big checks. It took careful planning to squeeze the written-out amount in the tiny space provided on a check. Occasionally, I’d write two checks because it was the only way to get the words “millions” and “hundreds of thousands” to fit.
But there’s another type of big check I’ve never had any experience with. The big-in-size check. What do you do with a meter-long (three feet) check printed on foam board? You see them when people win the lottery or game shows. Until recently I’d never personally known anyone experienced with this type of check.
Last year at Puebla’s City of Idea Conference, 30 “Gifted Citizens” competed for US$100,000. They were invited based on programs they’d developed designed to improve the lives of at least 10,000 people within six years. It’s a stellar group.
I met Shanyn Ronis, a sparkling young 27 year-old idealist from Virginia, U.S.A. wearing a “gifted citizen” nametag at the coffee bar during an intermission. She told me a bit about her program. I was impressed.
The last day of the conference all 30 “gifted citizens” were invited on stage to be presented to the 5,000 City of Ideas attendees. The curator of the event, Andres Roemer, announced the 10 finalists and Shanyn was one of them. To my delight two were chosen to share the grand prize. Shanyn was presented with a $50,000 “big-check”!
Last week Carol Hopkins and I interviewed Shanyn and learned that the actual “big check” is proudly affixed to the wall in her office. Laughingly she told me she didn’t know anything about cashing a “big check.” The money was conventionally wired into the account of the NGO she heads and is already helping implement programs she designed.
“In 2013 I founded E-Gap (Educational Global Access Program). Our mission is to develop programs and materials that sustainably enhance the impact of teachers serving vulnerable populations in conflict zones and other at-risk areas. Teachers and existing NGO’s are key to our vision of forging a global cadre of highly qualified and dedicated teachers who can enable their students to achieve full potential.”
Most of E-Gap’s work right now is in Africa. Shanyn, who is bi-lingual in Spanish, is working hard to bring programs to Mexico. She’s already implemented a program in Ecuador and is searching for a Mexican NGO partner for a similar program in this country. She did college fieldwork in Peru, Guatemala, and Mexico – with archeological work as well as social anthropology research in Oaxaca.
Beginning as an undergraduate, Shanyn wrestled with working in social-inequality cultures, learning to implement “upside down” programs. “Most of the work we do is upside down. I take what is, even accept social inequality, because if we wait for that to change nothing will ever happen.
“The people who actually carry out our programs are from Nigeria, Cameroon, Ecuador – and other countries in which we work. They’re the folk who provide the missing pieces. With their input we tweak our programs to work in their country – not the other way around.
“Most educational funding in Latin America is for basic education – elementary reading and writing. But what’s next? There’s a lost age-group, 16-25, falling through the cracks. They’ve completed mandatory primary education but don’t have job-related skills or computer competency.” Shanyn has listened and heard them say, “In order to succeed we need more than education. We need connections and experience. Otherwise we’ll never get our foot in the door.”
And so, Shanyn’s Gifted Citziens’ award is being used to finance the training of 3,000 teachers in areas of extreme poverty and conflict zones by 2017. “It is by far our biggest program. The video-based curriculum, designed for independent learners, combines with a written text and assessment. It can be used in rural areas – even those without access to internet and includes entrepreneurial training.
Shanyn told us how she came to be invited to The City of Ideas as a “Gifted Citizen.” “Last year I was a guest lecturer at a conference in D.C. for young entrepreneurs. There were several Mexican participants. One, an organizer for the City of Ideas, suggested I apply.
“The City of Ideas was an extraordinary opportunity to meet people with similar goals and visions. We can supply support to one another as needed. My gratitude for the opportunity to network with such an amazing group, not to mention the prize itself, is boundless.”
I still don’t know how to cash a “big check.” But then, I don’t have one. The internet says “big checks” are legal tender but I guess I’ll have to win one, or earn one, to find out if this is true.
Showing posts with label City of Ideas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label City of Ideas. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
Tuesday, November 10, 2015
Moving forward on the drug debate
This was an exciting week for me. In anticipation of the City of Ideas Festival (La Ciudad de Ideas) in Puebla I spoke with Andrés Roemer, the festival’s co-curator. I was particularly interested in a scheduled debate titled, “What’s the Point of Prohibition?” — referring to the legalization of currently illegal drugs.
I asked, “What are we going to do if the Supreme Court gets ahead of us?”
Andrés replied, “This debate is about much more than marijuana.”
Was Roemer talking about the spectrum of drugs that was possibly to be legalized or was he talking about how, as a society, we reach consensus about social policy? I looked forward to finding out.
Within two hours a New York Times headline popped up on my screen saying Mexico’s Supreme Court had struck down laws limiting a particular group’s right to grow and use marijuana recreationally. An interesting thing about this decision is it is limited to the four people who brought the suit.
As Roemer predicted, Saturday’s debate proved especially timely, touching on both harmful legal drugs like alcohol and tobacco and illegal drugs. He moderated a two-hour formal debate with four proponents on each side of the issue.
Three former heads of state argued for the legalization of drugs. They were Ruth Dreifuss of Switzerland, César Gaviria of Colombia, and Mexico’s own Vicente Fox. Ricardo Salinas Pliego, a Mexican entrepreneur and co-curator of the festival, joined them.
Colombia and Mexico both have been seriously impacted for decades by the War on Drugs initiated by the Unites States. Both countries have suffered an increase in violence and drug cartel activity and an increasing lack of respect by the citizenry for their government’s anti-drug policy.
Two of the defenders of prohibition of illegal drugs were from the United States: Kevin Sabet a founder of Project SAM (Smart Approaches to Marijuana) and Mark Kleiman, CEO of Back of the Envelope Calculations Analysis Corporation. They were joined by Mexican Viridiana Rios, a fellow at the Wilson Center for International Scholars, and by Antonio Mazzitelli, an Italian who is the liaison with Mexico from the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime.
Before the debate, Roemer asked the 5,000 people in the audience to raise their hand if they defended prohibition. A good number raised their hand. He then asked for a show of hands of those opposed to prohibition. They were both numerous and boisterous. By my calculation the mostly, Mexican audience was 2:1 in favor of doing away with prohibition.
During the debate the only reference to the recent Supreme Court decision came from ex-President Fox who said that with five more similar court decisions, legalization of marijuana will become law. The Senate and Chamber of Deputies need to work quickly to write law. “I hope they are up to the challenge,” he added.
Using Fox’s introductory comments, Roemer asked the ex-president how he could compare the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden to the forbidden drugs and allow their use while regulating them.
Fox pointed to the role of parents. “Through example and information. Parents must be careful o give their children information necessary for their health. Forbidden fruit was attractive to Adam and Eve but it could have been described as infested with worms, bad for their stomachs. When things are explained and reasons are offered we all understand. This is particularly effective if the parents themselves are not examples of using.”
To Ricardo Salinas Pliego (TV Azteca’s CEO), Roemer relayed a question from the audience. “TV Azteca’s often repeated slogan is ‘Say no to drugs.’ Isn’t that in conflict with your suggestion that addicts be provided with free drugs?”
“Much like we give out free medicine to sick people” was Salinas’ reply.
Roemer’s sharpest question — and the one which drew the most cheers from the audience — was addressed to ex-President of Colombia Gaviria. “No one is more vehement in defending that which you defend. Why didn’t you do it when you were President?”
“I had no option. Drug cartels were so strong they threatened the state itself.”
Addressing Mark Kleiman, who was Roemer’s professor in the University of California’s School of Public Policy, Roemer said, “Everything, including drugs, has a market. Why not bring in transparent competition. Currently the drug market is a monopoly. In a free market there’s competition; profits are reduced. Black markets currently damage the health, life, and dignity of huge sectors of Latin America and the world.”
“I think you need to take my class again,” said professor Kleiman.
“But you gave me an A.”
“Some vices in society are so harmful that government must regulate them; gambling, alcohol, illegal drugs,” said Kleiman.
It was an intense, thought-provoking discussion on the liberalization/prohibition of drugs in society. After the debate concluded, Roemer asked for a show of hands. “How many people changed their minds from where they had been at the beginning?”
Despite all the discussion, very few hands went up. Nevertheless it was an achievement to be speaking openly and civilly about the elephant in the room.
I asked, “What are we going to do if the Supreme Court gets ahead of us?”
Andrés replied, “This debate is about much more than marijuana.”
Was Roemer talking about the spectrum of drugs that was possibly to be legalized or was he talking about how, as a society, we reach consensus about social policy? I looked forward to finding out.
Within two hours a New York Times headline popped up on my screen saying Mexico’s Supreme Court had struck down laws limiting a particular group’s right to grow and use marijuana recreationally. An interesting thing about this decision is it is limited to the four people who brought the suit.
As Roemer predicted, Saturday’s debate proved especially timely, touching on both harmful legal drugs like alcohol and tobacco and illegal drugs. He moderated a two-hour formal debate with four proponents on each side of the issue.
Three former heads of state argued for the legalization of drugs. They were Ruth Dreifuss of Switzerland, César Gaviria of Colombia, and Mexico’s own Vicente Fox. Ricardo Salinas Pliego, a Mexican entrepreneur and co-curator of the festival, joined them.
Colombia and Mexico both have been seriously impacted for decades by the War on Drugs initiated by the Unites States. Both countries have suffered an increase in violence and drug cartel activity and an increasing lack of respect by the citizenry for their government’s anti-drug policy.
Two of the defenders of prohibition of illegal drugs were from the United States: Kevin Sabet a founder of Project SAM (Smart Approaches to Marijuana) and Mark Kleiman, CEO of Back of the Envelope Calculations Analysis Corporation. They were joined by Mexican Viridiana Rios, a fellow at the Wilson Center for International Scholars, and by Antonio Mazzitelli, an Italian who is the liaison with Mexico from the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime.
Before the debate, Roemer asked the 5,000 people in the audience to raise their hand if they defended prohibition. A good number raised their hand. He then asked for a show of hands of those opposed to prohibition. They were both numerous and boisterous. By my calculation the mostly, Mexican audience was 2:1 in favor of doing away with prohibition.
During the debate the only reference to the recent Supreme Court decision came from ex-President Fox who said that with five more similar court decisions, legalization of marijuana will become law. The Senate and Chamber of Deputies need to work quickly to write law. “I hope they are up to the challenge,” he added.
Using Fox’s introductory comments, Roemer asked the ex-president how he could compare the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden to the forbidden drugs and allow their use while regulating them.
Fox pointed to the role of parents. “Through example and information. Parents must be careful o give their children information necessary for their health. Forbidden fruit was attractive to Adam and Eve but it could have been described as infested with worms, bad for their stomachs. When things are explained and reasons are offered we all understand. This is particularly effective if the parents themselves are not examples of using.”
To Ricardo Salinas Pliego (TV Azteca’s CEO), Roemer relayed a question from the audience. “TV Azteca’s often repeated slogan is ‘Say no to drugs.’ Isn’t that in conflict with your suggestion that addicts be provided with free drugs?”
“Much like we give out free medicine to sick people” was Salinas’ reply.
Roemer’s sharpest question — and the one which drew the most cheers from the audience — was addressed to ex-President of Colombia Gaviria. “No one is more vehement in defending that which you defend. Why didn’t you do it when you were President?”
“I had no option. Drug cartels were so strong they threatened the state itself.”
Addressing Mark Kleiman, who was Roemer’s professor in the University of California’s School of Public Policy, Roemer said, “Everything, including drugs, has a market. Why not bring in transparent competition. Currently the drug market is a monopoly. In a free market there’s competition; profits are reduced. Black markets currently damage the health, life, and dignity of huge sectors of Latin America and the world.”
“I think you need to take my class again,” said professor Kleiman.
“But you gave me an A.”
“Some vices in society are so harmful that government must regulate them; gambling, alcohol, illegal drugs,” said Kleiman.
It was an intense, thought-provoking discussion on the liberalization/prohibition of drugs in society. After the debate concluded, Roemer asked for a show of hands. “How many people changed their minds from where they had been at the beginning?”
Despite all the discussion, very few hands went up. Nevertheless it was an achievement to be speaking openly and civilly about the elephant in the room.
Tuesday, November 3, 2015
Ideas set to stream from Puebla
Fast on the heels of Day of the Dead, it’s again time for Mexico’s other annual November luminous experience, the City of Ideas. Founded in 2008, this is my third City of Ideas. I look forward to it as a stimulating mental retreat.
It will be held from November 5 to 7 in Puebla’s 5,000 seat, recently-remodeled, Auditorio Siglo XXI. Though the event sold out within days of its tickets’ release the entire three days is live-streamed on the Internet -- you needn’t miss a moment. Most everything is in English -- even the theme of the conference: “What’s the Point?”
The conference is the brainchild of Mexico’s San Francisco Consul Andres Roemer, who co-curates with Ricardo Salinas Pliego, Chairman of Grupo Salinas and Grupo Elektra. Romer said of Salinas “He’s a visionary -- breaking the typical prototype of the business entrepreneur. I met Ricardo through books. After reading two of my books he wanted to meet me. An avid reader, he has read many of the books written by the presenters at City of Ideas.”
TED Talks have become popular world-wide; the City of Ideas may be of equal importance. The slogan of TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) Talks is, “Ideas Worth Sharing.” Growing out of a one-time conference, TED Talks, are curated by Chris Anderson. Anderson, born in Pakistan to Medical Missionaries, went on to an Oxford education in so many disciplines that he, himself, could be considered a Renaissance Man.
Fascinated by the emerging computer world, Anderson began to publish magazines dedicated to various facets of the computer revolution. He used his newly-created wealth to fund the Sapling Foundation and acquired TED. The rest is history.
City of Ideas has a format similar to TED; each speaker is allowed only 14 minutes. On a single stage only minutes separate the speakers. All attendees have the opportunity to see all speakers. From experience, I can attest this is a physically challenging three days. Yet you hardly want to take a break for lunch. When the right brain approaches absolute overload, there will be a left-brain interlude of phenomenal music, dance, even magic.
This year’s theme is “What’s the Point?” If past is prologue, all of the speakers/presenters will, in some way, answer that question.
World leaders and politicians will be heard including former heads of state of Colombia, Switzerland, Mexico and Spain.
Patrick Magee, a long-imprisoned member of the IRA, will share the stage with the daughter of a British General killed by the IRA.
The US drug war will be one of the topics of “What’s the Point?” There will be speakers from all sides of the issue, including some major players who have dramatically changed their minds about the impact of this “war.”
Who says one person can’t change the world? These have.
Canadian Ryan Hreljac was only six years old when he learned about the difficulties Ugandans faced obtaining clean water. He immediately started doing chores to earn money to give to an African charity that builds wells. Others began to match his donations and the story went global. Ryan’s Well is now an international Foundation. Though now only 23 he has helped build hundreds of wells in Africa and has traveled the world raising money for clean water.
Another exciting and world-changing voice is Sugata Mitra’s. Professor Mitra is an educational scientist working to solve the global problem of a lack of teachers and schools. In impoverished areas of India, South Africa, and Italy, he “implanted” web-connected computers in walls located in public places. He left no instructions with the computers but returned periodically finding them surrounded by children learning complex mathematics and other subjects. The kids were teaching themselves!
Can the blind learn sonar and navigate the world without vision? Daniel Kish has been blind since 13-months but has learned to “see” through sonar. He now teaches his skill to others.
Jason Padgett was savagely attacked in 2002, left with a severe concussion and post-traumatic stress disorder. “Livescience” staff writer Tanya Lewis says, “The incident turned Padgett into a mathematical genius who sees the world through the lens of geometry. Padgett, a furniture salesman from Tacoma, Washington, had little to no interest in academics. He now has the ability to visualize complex mathematical objects and physics concepts intuitively. The injury, while devastating, seems to have unlocked part of his brain that makes everything in his world appear to have a mathematical structure.”
Simon Pierro is a German digital magician. You’re sure to wish your iPad was as talented as his! His presentation is certain to be enhanced by neurologists Susana Martinez-Conde and Stephen Macknik, experts in the neuroscience of illusion.
Like City of Ideas curator, Andres Roemer, Simon Pierro and his many fellow presenters will bring magic to Puebla and into our lives. By this time next week I’ll hope to have an insight into how it all fits together, perhaps even know “what’s the point.” For now I leave it in Andres’ capable hands and await the magic of the City of Ideas.
Don’t forget. You can watch it live-streamed at ciudaddelasideas.com. I suggest you go on early to register.
It will be held from November 5 to 7 in Puebla’s 5,000 seat, recently-remodeled, Auditorio Siglo XXI. Though the event sold out within days of its tickets’ release the entire three days is live-streamed on the Internet -- you needn’t miss a moment. Most everything is in English -- even the theme of the conference: “What’s the Point?”
The conference is the brainchild of Mexico’s San Francisco Consul Andres Roemer, who co-curates with Ricardo Salinas Pliego, Chairman of Grupo Salinas and Grupo Elektra. Romer said of Salinas “He’s a visionary -- breaking the typical prototype of the business entrepreneur. I met Ricardo through books. After reading two of my books he wanted to meet me. An avid reader, he has read many of the books written by the presenters at City of Ideas.”
TED Talks have become popular world-wide; the City of Ideas may be of equal importance. The slogan of TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) Talks is, “Ideas Worth Sharing.” Growing out of a one-time conference, TED Talks, are curated by Chris Anderson. Anderson, born in Pakistan to Medical Missionaries, went on to an Oxford education in so many disciplines that he, himself, could be considered a Renaissance Man.
Fascinated by the emerging computer world, Anderson began to publish magazines dedicated to various facets of the computer revolution. He used his newly-created wealth to fund the Sapling Foundation and acquired TED. The rest is history.
City of Ideas has a format similar to TED; each speaker is allowed only 14 minutes. On a single stage only minutes separate the speakers. All attendees have the opportunity to see all speakers. From experience, I can attest this is a physically challenging three days. Yet you hardly want to take a break for lunch. When the right brain approaches absolute overload, there will be a left-brain interlude of phenomenal music, dance, even magic.
This year’s theme is “What’s the Point?” If past is prologue, all of the speakers/presenters will, in some way, answer that question.
World leaders and politicians will be heard including former heads of state of Colombia, Switzerland, Mexico and Spain.
Patrick Magee, a long-imprisoned member of the IRA, will share the stage with the daughter of a British General killed by the IRA.
The US drug war will be one of the topics of “What’s the Point?” There will be speakers from all sides of the issue, including some major players who have dramatically changed their minds about the impact of this “war.”
Who says one person can’t change the world? These have.
Canadian Ryan Hreljac was only six years old when he learned about the difficulties Ugandans faced obtaining clean water. He immediately started doing chores to earn money to give to an African charity that builds wells. Others began to match his donations and the story went global. Ryan’s Well is now an international Foundation. Though now only 23 he has helped build hundreds of wells in Africa and has traveled the world raising money for clean water.
Another exciting and world-changing voice is Sugata Mitra’s. Professor Mitra is an educational scientist working to solve the global problem of a lack of teachers and schools. In impoverished areas of India, South Africa, and Italy, he “implanted” web-connected computers in walls located in public places. He left no instructions with the computers but returned periodically finding them surrounded by children learning complex mathematics and other subjects. The kids were teaching themselves!
Can the blind learn sonar and navigate the world without vision? Daniel Kish has been blind since 13-months but has learned to “see” through sonar. He now teaches his skill to others.
Jason Padgett was savagely attacked in 2002, left with a severe concussion and post-traumatic stress disorder. “Livescience” staff writer Tanya Lewis says, “The incident turned Padgett into a mathematical genius who sees the world through the lens of geometry. Padgett, a furniture salesman from Tacoma, Washington, had little to no interest in academics. He now has the ability to visualize complex mathematical objects and physics concepts intuitively. The injury, while devastating, seems to have unlocked part of his brain that makes everything in his world appear to have a mathematical structure.”
Simon Pierro is a German digital magician. You’re sure to wish your iPad was as talented as his! His presentation is certain to be enhanced by neurologists Susana Martinez-Conde and Stephen Macknik, experts in the neuroscience of illusion.
Like City of Ideas curator, Andres Roemer, Simon Pierro and his many fellow presenters will bring magic to Puebla and into our lives. By this time next week I’ll hope to have an insight into how it all fits together, perhaps even know “what’s the point.” For now I leave it in Andres’ capable hands and await the magic of the City of Ideas.
Don’t forget. You can watch it live-streamed at ciudaddelasideas.com. I suggest you go on early to register.
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
A billionaire’s view on inequality
It’s not often that you hear a billionaire join a conversation about income inequality. But that’s what happened last Saturday in Puebla at the City of Ideas festival. While liberal economist Robert Reich debated with conservative Stephen Moore about how much wealth was enough, Ricardo Salinas Pliego stood up from the audience to speak. “I’m a billionaire. I’m qualified to answer,” he said.
At the beginning of the presentation Reich had told us that the assets held by the 400 wealthiest people in the United States equals that of the poorest 150 million. Or more dramatically, the world’s 85 wealthiest people own as much as the poorest 3.5 billion!
Reich went on, “How much do people at the top need as incentive? Forty years ago U.S. Fortune 500 corporation CEOs earned 20 times the salary of their average worker. Today they earn 290 times the earnings of their average worker! How much is enough?”
Stephen Moore maintained, “It’s a decision to be made by shareholders not the government.”
That’s when Salinas stepped into the foray. He is the chairman of Grupo Salinas and Grupo Elektra and listed by Forbes as the 126th wealthiest person in the world, worth $9.9 billion. “How much is enough to create a new company, to create new jobs, to make new investments, to take on new risks?”
“People should have an incentive to do things. Now, people who criticize extremely rich people like me probably don’t have the experience. You cannot eat more--bad for your belly. You can’t drink more--bad for your mind. There are lots of things that are limited.”
He continued, “This wealth isn’t like you have it in your checkbook and you pull it out. It’s in the form of assets. To sell the assets you’d first have to find someone interested in buying them. Then you’d have to pay lots of taxes. And then what would you do with it? You loan it to the government. These days that’s what you do – at a ridiculously low rate. So the whole concept of wealth is something most people don’t understand because they don’t have these amounts.”
“I can sincerely tell you, it is all about investments. I just sold a company yesterday for $2.5 billion. Now, if we get a tax hit and I end up with $500 million I’m still going to invest it. But the other money is going to go into government coffers to no effect.”
Reich replied: “Where do we get the resources to provide good education and good health care for everyone? We are in a system where the wealth is going to the top. So that’s where you get the resources to finance the education at the bottom. It’s just logic.”
Reich continued “unless you have a growing middle class you don’t have the purchasing power to keep the economy growing. In the United States we have so much money going to the top that the middle and lower classes no longer have the purchasing power to basically get the economy out of first gear.”
Salinas challenged the two U.S. citizens. “You gentlemen mentioned some very good policies but you didn’t touch on a key point of which I need to remind you. You Americans have this misnomer called the Defense Department. It’s not the Defense Department-- it’s the War Department waging war all over the damn world and spending trillions of dollars, money we can’t even contemplate, on bombing people somewhere else. Why don’t you cut the war spending?”
Robert Reich looked at Ricardo Salinas and said “I’m nominating you for Secretary of the Defense Department.”
Salinas answered, “War Department. If you change the name I’ll take it.”
Reich replied: “If you can get defense spending down, and you can transfer it to education and healthcare in the U.S., that would be great.”
At the beginning of the presentation Reich had told us that the assets held by the 400 wealthiest people in the United States equals that of the poorest 150 million. Or more dramatically, the world’s 85 wealthiest people own as much as the poorest 3.5 billion!
Reich went on, “How much do people at the top need as incentive? Forty years ago U.S. Fortune 500 corporation CEOs earned 20 times the salary of their average worker. Today they earn 290 times the earnings of their average worker! How much is enough?”
Stephen Moore maintained, “It’s a decision to be made by shareholders not the government.”
That’s when Salinas stepped into the foray. He is the chairman of Grupo Salinas and Grupo Elektra and listed by Forbes as the 126th wealthiest person in the world, worth $9.9 billion. “How much is enough to create a new company, to create new jobs, to make new investments, to take on new risks?”
“People should have an incentive to do things. Now, people who criticize extremely rich people like me probably don’t have the experience. You cannot eat more--bad for your belly. You can’t drink more--bad for your mind. There are lots of things that are limited.”
He continued, “This wealth isn’t like you have it in your checkbook and you pull it out. It’s in the form of assets. To sell the assets you’d first have to find someone interested in buying them. Then you’d have to pay lots of taxes. And then what would you do with it? You loan it to the government. These days that’s what you do – at a ridiculously low rate. So the whole concept of wealth is something most people don’t understand because they don’t have these amounts.”
“I can sincerely tell you, it is all about investments. I just sold a company yesterday for $2.5 billion. Now, if we get a tax hit and I end up with $500 million I’m still going to invest it. But the other money is going to go into government coffers to no effect.”
Reich replied: “Where do we get the resources to provide good education and good health care for everyone? We are in a system where the wealth is going to the top. So that’s where you get the resources to finance the education at the bottom. It’s just logic.”
Reich continued “unless you have a growing middle class you don’t have the purchasing power to keep the economy growing. In the United States we have so much money going to the top that the middle and lower classes no longer have the purchasing power to basically get the economy out of first gear.”
Salinas challenged the two U.S. citizens. “You gentlemen mentioned some very good policies but you didn’t touch on a key point of which I need to remind you. You Americans have this misnomer called the Defense Department. It’s not the Defense Department-- it’s the War Department waging war all over the damn world and spending trillions of dollars, money we can’t even contemplate, on bombing people somewhere else. Why don’t you cut the war spending?”
Robert Reich looked at Ricardo Salinas and said “I’m nominating you for Secretary of the Defense Department.”
Salinas answered, “War Department. If you change the name I’ll take it.”
Reich replied: “If you can get defense spending down, and you can transfer it to education and healthcare in the U.S., that would be great.”
Tuesday, November 4, 2014
A city of ideas
An extraordinary learning festival will be held November 6-8 at the Cultural Center of Puebla’s Benemérita Autonomous University. 3500 people will gather for a fast-paced exchange of ideas. Selected from all over the world, 70 speakers will each have 14 minutes to present on diverse topics from the fields of medicine, science, law, education, the arts, economics, gender issues, and politics.
This event, the Seventh City of Ideas Conference, is titled “Change the World.” In their invitation to participate, conference director Andres Roemer and co-creator Ricardo Salinas Pliego of TV Azteca, suggest each individual can effect change. “Don’t underestimate the power of the beating of the monarch butterflies wings in Michoacan to generate a tsunami in Tokyo.”
I was fortunate to attend last year when the topic was “Dangerous Ideas.” I witnessed a spirited debate on the existence of God between Deepak Chopra and Richard Dawkins. I was moved by Sanjit “Bunker” Roy talking about his Barefoot College – an educational concept that has successfully trained illiterate grandmothers to become solar electricity engineers, able to electrify their poor and remote villages with solar panels they have learned to both manufacture and maintain.
I was thrilled to hear a world-wide choir of 7,000 people all singing the same song as the camera moved from nation to nation.
This year’s presenters include economist, author and former U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich, former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins, and Canadian Nicole Ticea, the creator of a new HIV testing process.
Tickets for the City of Ideas Conference are being sold on a waiting-list basis. However you can register and watch online in real time at www.ciudaddelasideas.com.
Videos of last year’s talks are posted on the same site. Most are in English with Spanish subtitles.
Dr. Roemer conceived of the City of Ideas as a “Renaissance event, where people come together to discuss ideas and to network on how one can effect change in the world.”
Leonardo Da Vinci was the ultimate Renaissance man. During the Renaissance it was possible for one person to possess wide-ranging knowledge. Now the world is complex and areas of knowledge highly specialized.
The City of Ideas wants to create a new population of Renaissance people. People whose expertise spans a significant number of different subject areas are known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve problems. In a world where there is increased specialization of knowledge these people are vanishing breed, yet necessary to confront and solve the challenges facing today’s world.
Conference director Andres Roemer lives in San Francisco, where he is Mexico’s Consul-General. Perched on the Pacific Rim, with the converging influences of distant Asia and close-by Silicon Valley, he says “I’m here in the U.S. in an area where there are some unique business people. Their ideas are what’s moving the world.”
Roemer looks to the conference sponsors not just for resources, but also for ideas. The conference was co-founded by Mexican entrepreneur Ricardo Salinas Pliego, who he called a “curator” of ideas. They look to participants from both the private sector and government for ideas.
Roemer added, “This is a festival of science where more importantly than what is said you learn how to think. The purpose is to become questioners. How do we empower social as well as individual prosperity?”
I asked Dr. Roemer why, since Mexico revolves around its capital, Mexico City, Puebla was chosen as the site for the City of Ideas. “For that very reason. It is important to get away to a retreat-like atmosphere where participants will not only attend but bond and network with one another during breaks, share their own ideas. Puebla is a World Heritage Site, has one of the best Conference Centers in Mexico and the necessary infrastructure to support the City of Ideas.”
Indeed I was thoroughly impressed last year with the first-rate installation operated by the University of Puebla.
Change the World’s mission makes me think of the phrase attributed to Gandhi, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” Is it a bit too much to bring him into a meeting sponsored by wealthy business people? Maybe it’s exactly what needs to be done. Sanjit “Bunker” Roy certainly got a thundering applause at last year’s meeting when he described illiterate grandmothers becoming solar power engineers.
This event, the Seventh City of Ideas Conference, is titled “Change the World.” In their invitation to participate, conference director Andres Roemer and co-creator Ricardo Salinas Pliego of TV Azteca, suggest each individual can effect change. “Don’t underestimate the power of the beating of the monarch butterflies wings in Michoacan to generate a tsunami in Tokyo.”
I was fortunate to attend last year when the topic was “Dangerous Ideas.” I witnessed a spirited debate on the existence of God between Deepak Chopra and Richard Dawkins. I was moved by Sanjit “Bunker” Roy talking about his Barefoot College – an educational concept that has successfully trained illiterate grandmothers to become solar electricity engineers, able to electrify their poor and remote villages with solar panels they have learned to both manufacture and maintain.
I was thrilled to hear a world-wide choir of 7,000 people all singing the same song as the camera moved from nation to nation.
This year’s presenters include economist, author and former U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich, former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins, and Canadian Nicole Ticea, the creator of a new HIV testing process.
Tickets for the City of Ideas Conference are being sold on a waiting-list basis. However you can register and watch online in real time at www.ciudaddelasideas.com.
Videos of last year’s talks are posted on the same site. Most are in English with Spanish subtitles.
Dr. Roemer conceived of the City of Ideas as a “Renaissance event, where people come together to discuss ideas and to network on how one can effect change in the world.”
Leonardo Da Vinci was the ultimate Renaissance man. During the Renaissance it was possible for one person to possess wide-ranging knowledge. Now the world is complex and areas of knowledge highly specialized.
The City of Ideas wants to create a new population of Renaissance people. People whose expertise spans a significant number of different subject areas are known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve problems. In a world where there is increased specialization of knowledge these people are vanishing breed, yet necessary to confront and solve the challenges facing today’s world.
Conference director Andres Roemer lives in San Francisco, where he is Mexico’s Consul-General. Perched on the Pacific Rim, with the converging influences of distant Asia and close-by Silicon Valley, he says “I’m here in the U.S. in an area where there are some unique business people. Their ideas are what’s moving the world.”
Roemer looks to the conference sponsors not just for resources, but also for ideas. The conference was co-founded by Mexican entrepreneur Ricardo Salinas Pliego, who he called a “curator” of ideas. They look to participants from both the private sector and government for ideas.
Roemer added, “This is a festival of science where more importantly than what is said you learn how to think. The purpose is to become questioners. How do we empower social as well as individual prosperity?”
I asked Dr. Roemer why, since Mexico revolves around its capital, Mexico City, Puebla was chosen as the site for the City of Ideas. “For that very reason. It is important to get away to a retreat-like atmosphere where participants will not only attend but bond and network with one another during breaks, share their own ideas. Puebla is a World Heritage Site, has one of the best Conference Centers in Mexico and the necessary infrastructure to support the City of Ideas.”
Indeed I was thoroughly impressed last year with the first-rate installation operated by the University of Puebla.
Change the World’s mission makes me think of the phrase attributed to Gandhi, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” Is it a bit too much to bring him into a meeting sponsored by wealthy business people? Maybe it’s exactly what needs to be done. Sanjit “Bunker” Roy certainly got a thundering applause at last year’s meeting when he described illiterate grandmothers becoming solar power engineers.
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