I am a retired scientist-engineer seeking simple and logical, win-win solutions to thorny issues of the day, at all levels: local (eg, education quality and focus with sustainable schools budgets), state (eg, hydrofracking regulation for clean air and water; state mandates full funding vs. "nice to have"), national (eg, tax code simplification with reasonable capping of all deductions; campaign funding and lobbyists; foreign policy), and global (eg, breaking the climate talks gridlock by reconciling rich and poor, skeptics and activists around sustainable development for 350ppmCO2/+1.5C; financial systemic risk control). I have helped 150 big projects in 50 countries...

As a proud Freedom-American (as in Freedom Fries), I am very concerned with what is happening in our country with growing inequalities and hollowing out of the middle class, and the steady decline of education quality before post-graduate level. From being on top a few decades ago, we are now in the lowest quartile of the PISA Program for International Student Assessment. Yet we spend 2-3 times per student what other rich OECD countries spend.

 Anyone interested in helping to find win-win solutions?