There is so much disagreement between the different sides of the political aisles in the United States. The two party system encourages disagreements, not our common values and insights. I feel like there is a bipartisan set of guiding principles out there that people can largely agree on (not perfectly, however). These principles could be
The source of our wealth is the individual, the laborer toiling
Wealth is created by individual effort. People should be encouraged to create, improve, and maintain the world we live in.
...more to add here, but thinking through my thoughts...
Power always needs checks and balances, equivalent in potency to the amount of power given
Financial transparency should be at the heart of checks on power
Each adult should constitute one vote, with equal representation
The possibility of corruption is so strong that public servants should have requirements of transparency
Budget deficits should be incredibly rare
Similar to a household's finances, a budget deficit should be very rare and be considered an emergency
Reserves should be proactively added to the budget
Self-sufficiency
Self-sufficiency is a hedge against attack and immoral behavior from the city's residents
People who have full bellies, safe homes and safe streets, and hope for the future are incredibly difficult to recruit to murder other people (fight in your wars)
A city that is less fragile when it comes to infrastructure and the staples of life (food, electricity, heat, safety) is more difficult to make desperate or attack.
Embracing regional constraints, and figuring out how to thrive within those constraints makes for a more innovative and self-sustaining people
Creating regional proficiency and expertise in a field is an economic boon for the region
The grid provides resilience, but should be a secondary source:
Electricity should be produced as locally as possible, but we should connect to the grid as well
Water should be collected locally, but the grid should provide it as a backup as well
Low cost, low impact travel should be at the heart of self-sustaining city, as it enables the independence of its citizens
Food reserves should be kept locally as a public good
Resources are the baseline of life, and taxation and policy should be based on this understanding
Our oxygen, water, soil, land, and time are incredibly precious resources. Human life fundamentally depends on these things. Our policies should intimately reflect this dynamic.
The most reasonable way to tax (if I am wrong, correct me!) is the extent to which someone is taking up a resource from someone else. And it should be a progressive tax. For instance, if your family uses 200 gallons of water a month that is reasonable usage to sustain life, and should be taxed accordingly. But if you your family uses 200,000 of gallons of water a month that has implications for the rest of society, as well as possibly future generations. Our policies should ensure we are stewards of the resources of the earth. Fundamental to this viewpoint is that all people should have equal access (as much as possible) to the earth's resources. They are all of ours, collectively.
Diversity makes us better
The power of proximity is a powerful way for us to overcome bias, embrace differences, and create more multi-cultural societies.
Diversity is a competitive advantage. The best cities in the world, that have the largest economies, are the most multicultural. People want to live in places with "culture"
Multi-lingual cities are a treasure, and a melting pot of cultures can create an empathetic, vibrant culture.
Education is at the ❤️ of a thriving society
Education and the youth are focal points of a thriving society
All inhabitants should have equality in opportunity when it comes to education, as much as possible
The incentives of educators should be aligned with students' incentives
Knowledge should be created and shared freely, while people's time should be highly valued (as it is a finite resource)
Multiple forms of housing/transportation in a thriving city
Housing of all types can exist in a thriving city, with enough density to make for a great area the enable...
Multiple transit options Many of the world's most desired cities to live in are create an environment that encourage people to travel using different modes of transportation. We should create policies on travel that have to do with consumption: the more of the road or resources you use up to travel, the less of a preference that mode of transportation has in planning
Guiding principles for a city
There is so much disagreement between the different sides of the political aisles in the United States. The two party system encourages disagreements, not our common values and insights. I feel like there is a bipartisan set of guiding principles out there that people can largely agree on (not perfectly, however). These principles could be
The source of our wealth is the individual, the laborer toiling
Power always needs checks and balances, equivalent in potency to the amount of power given
Budget deficits should be incredibly rare
Self-sufficiency
Resources are the baseline of life, and taxation and policy should be based on this understanding
Diversity makes us better
Education is at the ❤️ of a thriving society
Multiple forms of housing/transportation in a thriving city