Example: Citizens’ Guide to a Strong Economy
Citizens’ Guide to a Strong Economy
March 19, 2007
A presentation by the Institute for Wisconsin’s Future
The Institute for Wisconsin's Future created this presentation as part of its efforts to engage citizens across the state in discussions about how Wisconsin can fairly raise the revenue needed to protect its public structures. This presentation was intended to be a catalyst for people to discuss what they value and what they can do to make Wisconsin communities stronger.
We believe this is a great example of utilizing the recommendations of our project in the development of advocacy and organizing tools.
- Its tone is aspirational. Rather than telling a crisis story about the need for increased revenue, it offers hope that by working together, Wisconsinites can keep their state strong.
- It brings in important level one values—the values that give rise to government in the first place. “Protecting what we rely on and cherish in Wisconsin,” “working together,” and words like community, responsibility, and quality of life are examples of this presentation’s use of values.
- Throughout the presentation, the public structures metaphor is used to refer to government. Not only does the presentation expertly explain what this concept is, it uses a tree and its root system as a visual metaphor for public structures. Just as water is important for a healthy plant, this graphic shows that a broad-based revenue system is key to the growth and maintenance of public structures.
- Using words like “we” and “us,” this presentation conveys the concept of collective ownership of government. The presentation follows this helpful pattern when it refers to taxes as the collective investment of citizens.
- The notion of citizenship is woven throughout the presentation.
- The presentation effectively uses an unlikely, yet credible, messenger from the business community in one of the slides.