I have established a new blog called Facing Zionwards (Abraham Lincoln's phrase) which will be a forum where interested readers can comment on the ideas contained in my book, THE SOFT PATH: Notes for a New Way of Life in America.
For those who don't know, THE SOFT PATE describes an alternative to suburbia: a brand new lifestyle designed for America's working families who can no longer see an affordable future for themselves in our big cities.
A Gallup poll found over half the American people interested in living this way. Check it out! The American people need a new idea to rally around, something that can carry us through the difficult economic times ahead.
Hi all Obama supporters!
Now that the old middle-class dream of a house in the suburbs and a full-time Mom who stays at home with the kids is no longer within reach of most Americans, it may be time for the next generation to begin to imagine alternatives that are more in keeping with the economic realities of the 21st century.
One possibility we might consider is a federal program to build New Towns in the Country based around the concept of part-time employment. After all, one 40-hour-a-week job used to be enough to support a family of four. Why not two 20-hour-a-week jobs today? And why do we have to live in big cities -- where the cost-of-living is sky high -- when, thanks to modern technology, economic decentralization is a real possibility?
Of course this is not the kind of change Americans can bring about on their own. It would require organized effort and government support on a very large scale.
In this blog I want to explore the pros and cons of such a government program in a time of depression. And, of course, I also want to explore the pros and cons of such a new way of life.
