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[h=2]America’s pride – a strong civil society[/h]
November 5th, 2012 |
Author: Contributions
Just one week into my study tour, I cannot help but be impressed with the
role played by the large and diverse corps of volunteers in facilitating my
meetings.
The US State Department, through the Meridian International Center, has a
network of 92 volunteer organisations all over the country to arrange meetings
with local groups and host families. They are an important link. When I was
stranded by the superstorm Sandy in Chicago, my host Meridian International
Center activated its affiliate World Chicago to arrange for alternative meetings
at short notice. Here in Pennsylvania, local sponsor Global Pittsburgh invited
me to its monthly networking cocktail reception where I met local residents
including students from China, Taiwan and Malaysia who attend the local
Universities of Pittsburgh and Carnegie-Mellon. The sponsor also arranged
discussions with the organisers of the Black Political Empowerment Project,
Voting Rights Community, League of Women Voters, and Democratic and Republican
voters who came to tell us why they were going to vote for Obama and Romney
respectively.
The highlight of our visit to Pittsburgh was the session with the Allegheny
County Courthouse to discuss the oversight of the election process. We were
briefed on the transition from paper ballot to voting on huge mechanical
machines and finally to electronic voting.The mechanical machines weighed 850
pounds each but today’s electronic voting device is just a laptop. See photos
below. Productivity gains were huge - the number of employees dropped from 120
to 35. Here’s a lesson in productivity improvement for Singapore government
departments.
I tried touch-screen voting. Dr Mary van Shura,
Director of Community Affairs, looked on.
The ballot screen lists all the names of candidates.
There is an empty space for voters to type in the names of anyone they like to
be on the ballot. I typed in my name but missed out the name for VP? Anyone for
VP of the USA?
We visited KDKA, a regional television network of CBS. TV anchor Jon Delano,
Money and Politics Editor, told us most people get their political news from
local television rather than the national cable network. This is because local
news affects them directly like the weather. Lots of campaign money have gone
into local TV advertising, making local TV networks very rich. At this stage of
the election cycle, it’s a “ground” game that favours the party who can get
voters out to vote (voting is not compulsory in the US, unlike Singapore). Hence
millions are poured into local TV networks in the final days of the campaign. In
the state of Pennsylvania where KDKA is located, Romney pulled out 2 months ago
but is coming back as polls suggest a close fight, so he is putting millions
into the state, outspending Obama by 4 times.
In CBS' KDKA TV studio with Jon Delano, a popular TV
anchor.
There is increasing polarisation in US politics, a phenomenon that is evident
from talking to 2 separate groups of Democrat and Republican voters who told us
candidly the reasons for their choice. The Democrats have moved slightly left of
center, favouring freedom of choice and a wider social safety net, while the
Republicans campaign on traditional family values and lower taxes and government
spending. I found the Republicans to be more ideological and wonder if they are
pushing for a conservative pro-business agenda of lower taxes out of self
interest and greed or for the greater good. Reminds me of PAP politicians who
justify high salaries for ministers on the need for a talented government, but
when these ministers turn out to be incompetent and under perform on the job,
they continue to keep their high salaries!
Our stay in Pittsburgh ended with an experience of home hospitality when we
were invited for dinner in the homes of volunteer hosts. I had a delicious
vegetarian lasagna and an engaging conversation with Nick and Tracy Certo. Nick
is a banker and Tracy a publisher. Tracy was intrigued by my essay on a new
Singapore economy (she had my cv) as she is an advocate of an innovative
society. Pittsburgh was known as a steel capital before but has moved from a
“hand” to a “brain” economy. I told her Singapore wanted to make a similar
transformation in the early 1980s but after more than 30 years, we are still a
low wage economy with a large dependence on the manufacturing industry.
With Nick and Tracy Certo in their home on Mt Lebanon,
a suburb outside Pittsburgh.
Kids from the neighbourhood visited us at the home of
the Certos on Halloween night in a Treat or Trick game - we had to give them a
treat of candy or they would play a trick on us; we were spared eggs on the
face! Hardball politics, they start young in the US; good recruits for the
Republicans, remember Bush and Reagan?
.
Tan Jee Say
* Jee Say was a Presidential candidate in the 2011 Presidential Election.
The article first appeared on his facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/TanJeeSay.
.
Just one week into my study tour, I cannot help but be impressed with the
role played by the large and diverse corps of volunteers in facilitating my
meetings.
The US State Department, through the Meridian International Center, has a
network of 92 volunteer organisations all over the country to arrange meetings
with local groups and host families. They are an important link. When I was
stranded by the superstorm Sandy in Chicago, my host Meridian International
Center activated its affiliate World Chicago to arrange for alternative meetings
at short notice. Here in Pennsylvania, local sponsor Global Pittsburgh invited
me to its monthly networking cocktail reception where I met local residents
including students from China, Taiwan and Malaysia who attend the local
Universities of Pittsburgh and Carnegie-Mellon. The sponsor also arranged
discussions with the organisers of the Black Political Empowerment Project,
Voting Rights Community, League of Women Voters, and Democratic and Republican
voters who came to tell us why they were going to vote for Obama and Romney
respectively.
The highlight of our visit to Pittsburgh was the session with the Allegheny
County Courthouse to discuss the oversight of the election process. We were
briefed on the transition from paper ballot to voting on huge mechanical
machines and finally to electronic voting.The mechanical machines weighed 850
pounds each but today’s electronic voting device is just a laptop. See photos
below. Productivity gains were huge - the number of employees dropped from 120
to 35. Here’s a lesson in productivity improvement for Singapore government
departments.
I tried touch-screen voting. Dr Mary van Shura,
Director of Community Affairs, looked on.
The ballot screen lists all the names of candidates.
There is an empty space for voters to type in the names of anyone they like to
be on the ballot. I typed in my name but missed out the name for VP? Anyone for
VP of the USA?
We visited KDKA, a regional television network of CBS. TV anchor Jon Delano,
Money and Politics Editor, told us most people get their political news from
local television rather than the national cable network. This is because local
news affects them directly like the weather. Lots of campaign money have gone
into local TV advertising, making local TV networks very rich. At this stage of
the election cycle, it’s a “ground” game that favours the party who can get
voters out to vote (voting is not compulsory in the US, unlike Singapore). Hence
millions are poured into local TV networks in the final days of the campaign. In
the state of Pennsylvania where KDKA is located, Romney pulled out 2 months ago
but is coming back as polls suggest a close fight, so he is putting millions
into the state, outspending Obama by 4 times.
In CBS' KDKA TV studio with Jon Delano, a popular TV
anchor.
There is increasing polarisation in US politics, a phenomenon that is evident
from talking to 2 separate groups of Democrat and Republican voters who told us
candidly the reasons for their choice. The Democrats have moved slightly left of
center, favouring freedom of choice and a wider social safety net, while the
Republicans campaign on traditional family values and lower taxes and government
spending. I found the Republicans to be more ideological and wonder if they are
pushing for a conservative pro-business agenda of lower taxes out of self
interest and greed or for the greater good. Reminds me of PAP politicians who
justify high salaries for ministers on the need for a talented government, but
when these ministers turn out to be incompetent and under perform on the job,
they continue to keep their high salaries!
Our stay in Pittsburgh ended with an experience of home hospitality when we
were invited for dinner in the homes of volunteer hosts. I had a delicious
vegetarian lasagna and an engaging conversation with Nick and Tracy Certo. Nick
is a banker and Tracy a publisher. Tracy was intrigued by my essay on a new
Singapore economy (she had my cv) as she is an advocate of an innovative
society. Pittsburgh was known as a steel capital before but has moved from a
“hand” to a “brain” economy. I told her Singapore wanted to make a similar
transformation in the early 1980s but after more than 30 years, we are still a
low wage economy with a large dependence on the manufacturing industry.
With Nick and Tracy Certo in their home on Mt Lebanon,
a suburb outside Pittsburgh.
Kids from the neighbourhood visited us at the home of
the Certos on Halloween night in a Treat or Trick game - we had to give them a
treat of candy or they would play a trick on us; we were spared eggs on the
face! Hardball politics, they start young in the US; good recruits for the
Republicans, remember Bush and Reagan?
.
Tan Jee Say
* Jee Say was a Presidential candidate in the 2011 Presidential Election.
The article first appeared on his facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/TanJeeSay.
.
