The Tipping Point

Tucson, Arizona. After some reflection regarding events local and national I have a theory I will call "The Tipping Point" regarding the transformation of governance as populations, technologies, or administrations cross certain thresholds. For a metropolis, one such threshold occurs when the population surpasses a million. Nationally, a threshold can occur when an administration drifts too far from the will of the citizens it is supposed to represent.

When this occurs, the ability of the old dogs to run the show with their old tricks starts to slip. More than birth rate, migration fuels the population growth of Tucson and the state of Arizona. When those that arrive settle in, a small percentage start to pay attention and ask questions. They are not part of the old dog network or "Supergroup" (SG). They are not served by the status quo.

The process starts with observation and criticism, and the Robert Nordmeyer opinion piece, It’s past time for Tucson to Grow Up in the Star Tuesday is a perfect example. Unfortunately, the process is painfully slow. Nordmeyer wrote about Tucson corruption and incompetence in May 2007, the same month I resigned from SAIAT and Tucson had a town hall.

The SG is not an extraordinary conspiracy or organized crime syndicate masterfully designed to make a couple dozen guys rich. I can appreciate Econ Guy’s assertion that certain components are quite successfully producing desired ends for those with wealth and influence. Cigar Man hits closer to the truth with his image of the sloppier, less organized combination of the noble and adept, the well meaning but inept, the arrogant, the hard working, the greedy, and the corrupt. Some of the well connected make extraordinary sums through sweet deals or automated faucets that flow unabated, unchecked, and unwatched. I wish I had a gig where the city cut me a check for $16 grand a month for doing positively nothing.

The process is slow, but an increasing number of intelligent individuals are scratching their heads and asking questions about governance at all levels. Here in Tucson, what arena makes sense? Who gets to design it and why? Who was given what land and why? The SG let a lying thief shut down a training organization so he could take its funding. Was there any debate? Any discussion? Any assessment of value vs. cost? None. Never mind SAIAT. Let the cockroach explain why $30,000 better serves Tucson sitting in his bank than spent by Goodwill Industries to help the less fortunate. What filth.

The tipping point is about information. Good governance has little to hide and shares information. Bad governance hides and withholds information. The model of bad governance, the Bush Administration is the Satan of information and the worst presidency in the history of the nation. Its arrogance, incompetence, and moral bankruptcy are so staggering we are in denial. They laugh at the constitution and the law. They destroy documents, ignore subpoenas, imprison the innocent (even governors), suppress scientific research, give unspeakable fortunes to corporate pals, and exhibit outrageous contempt of Congress.

As above so below. Does not Tucson have its Halliburtons?

The United States, Arizona, Tucson, and Tucson Newspapers all approach tipping points. The systems persist until forced to change. Will the owners and editors of Tucson Newspapers continue to sit on the SG boards and publish SG favorable content? Will Tucson continue to tolerate the SG’s hanky panky? Will Arizona continue to neglect its education system and water fiasco? Will the United States tolerate the same disastrous policies with the next administration? At all levels the inertia is great. Still, the pool of those paying attention is growing. Dissatisfaction and frustration continue to mount. If the spread between the journalism of Web 2.0 and that of the regular press spreads too wide, the community will alter where it gets its information.

Inside Tucson Business sits on TREO’s council of Trustees and paid for the seat, a glaring conflict of interest. ITB’s material on TREO is school girl cheerleading, not journalism. The metropolitan Tucson community now exceeds a million people. It’s time for Tucson’s press to toss the pom poms and buy a pair of pants.

The bigger the rock, the harder and slower goes the trek up the hill. At the peak we reach the tipping point, at which point the size of the rock acquires completely different semantics.