Season 2 Episode 13: Looking Back and Moving Forward A Reflection on Patterns & Paradigms with Jonathan Drapkin

This week, host Jonathan Drapkin reflects on the intent and themes of Patterns & Paradigms. Looking back over the past year as we have all faced a pandemic, economic disruption, and social unrest, we are taking note of where we are now.

We recognize that change brings challenge, disruption can create chaos and we’re intentionally choosing to see the silver lining – that opportunity arises. We can shine a light on the things that weren’t working well, that weren’t really working at all. We can regroup, reevaluate, and reengineer.

Check out all of our episodes covering topics from community policing to land use and urban planning, from early education to social enterprise and space travel, from New York City to Mars. We have a whole new lineup of exciting guests and innovative ideas coming up next!

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:03

We are experiencing a paradigm shift, a fundamental change in the way we usually do things. We are intentionally choosing to see the silver lining opportunity arises. We can shine a light on the things that weren't working well on those things that weren't really working at all, we can regroup reevaluate and re-engineer it's time to explore new patterns and paradigms those that inspire us to rise above the chaos and explore how the conditions of today can take us to a better tomorrow

Speaker 2: 0:50

Patterns and paradigms the pattern podcast from Hudson Valley pattern for progress. You're listening to a special episode of season two episode 13, looking back and moving forward. A reflection on patterns and paradigms with your host pattern, president and CEO, Jonathan Dropkick.

Speaker 3: 1:09

This week patterns and paradigms is taking a break, just like so many of you that have Easter Passover or the kids off from school because of the holidays. What was this podcast about the theme we were interested in how the pandemic, the economy and social issues could possibly take us to a better place. So let me start off with the sobering news. So first the pandemic, since the start over 550,000 deaths have occurred in the United States, 550,000. Never was that in my mind, a number when the first death occurred back in February with 30 million cases reported, we now have merely one 10th of the country's population having been infected one 10th of the country's population on January 26, there were over 4,000 deaths in a single day and happily on March 26. That number was 685. And yet more than half the States are seeing their COVID numbers rise yet again, and that's despite the proliferation of the vaccine throughout the United States, many States have chosen to throw caution to the wind and say, you have to wear a mask. This led the CDC director, Dr. Where our shell Willinsky to say earlier this week that she felt impending doom is the quote. If we're not careful in the next few weeks to guard against further infections, the economy, the national economy, and the unemployment rate currently are at 6.2% yet, chairman of the fed reserve, Jerome Powell and treasury secretary, Janet Yellen had both said that this number is really the headline number and that the real unemployment rate you need to add 3%. So roughly 9.2%. And whether you're calculating it at 6.2 or 9.2, there are at least 10 million Americans who are unemployed. And then there's the social issues and the social unrest that were with us before we started this podcast this week, the trial of the police officer who was involved in the killing of George Floyd began, it would be the demarcation. When concerns for social justice exploded, it ignited conversations about policing and equity. Those were the three reasons we started patterns and paradigms, not to depress you, which obviously the past year has been full of pain. But to say, how do we take these three areas and use it as a launching point to get to a better place? We are well into year two of our podcast. Our guests have taken us from Poughkeepsie, New York to a program called day one with Geraldine, Laybourne, and Julie Reese, which is how to expand early childhood education to every child in Duchess County to the planet. Mars would Cornell professor Rob Sullivan for local inspiration, Kelly Lynn guard, and her project to help fight addiction through entrepreneurship, known as unsheltered to big issues like the future of land use and climate change would came element from the open space Institute. If you are a new listener, go back and sample some of the earlier as they are quite timely for the Hudson Valley, we're going to need to pay attention as we move forward. And for those of us at patterns and paradigms, this is where it really gets interesting. The urban refugees and the resettlement in the Hudson Valley, there is a great debate as to should they come at all. There are people that say, we don't want the people from New York city. The counter-argument suggests, well, hold on a second. These are people with money. They can help restaurants and small businesses that suffered they're educated. They can help the workforce. This debate is going to rage. The changing nature of work. There's so many aspects of this. As we try to decide, are we going back to work? Full-time five days a week. Do we want to stay at home five days a week? And so far survey after survey suggests it's not going back to the way it was. And as to the number or percentage of people that wish to return to the workplace that is unsettled. This is an enormous issue with enormous comp implications and complexities. When you think about New York city, our neighbor to the South, it includes questions like, what does this mean for the rail systems? What does it mean for all the large commercial buildings? What does it mean to the little hot dog vendor that relies on millions of people for lunch? Every Workday, the integration of technology is yet another one that has exploded in one year. We saw what probably would have taken 10. And if you really want your mind blown, look for the segment on 60 minutes on Boston dynamics, you have to watch it to see the state of robots and where they are. Um, but it makes the old Terminator movie look like, wait a minute, this is all real. Then there is the broader discussion, which we turn to often on patterns and paradigms about housing for low-income. We look at affordable. There wasn't enough before the pandemic, and we need to aggressively provide housing for low income people. But it's not just low-income. It seems as if every level of housing has shortfalls. Middle-income where if you, you know, let's say, can earn$15 an hour or more. Let's say even$30 an hour, is there enough housing to meet your needs? We think not. And then the high end, well, with all the people coming up from New York city, the sale of homes has reached new highs supply for all three is dwindling. And this is the crisis of 2021 for the Hudson Valley. Uh, we recently did a program with three County executives. They all highlighted the need for housing at all levels. Just one note of caution. If you are a seller and you are looking at the number you can get for your house, please, please remember to have a plan. What comes next? It's great. If you can sell your house for the price that you never dreamed of, but then where are you going to live? So as we end the first quarter of 2021, while there is still much of the pandemic economic disruption and questions of social equity that we need to address, we choose to be excited about what comes next. We choose not to look at quote unquote impending. Do we have booked guests for all of April and all of may? So please join us. This is Jonathan. Dropkin the president and CEO of Hudson Valley pattern for progress. We'll be with you

Speaker 1: 10:46

Next week. Thank you for tuning in to patterns and paradigms the pattern podcast. For more information about this episode, visit our website pattern for progress.org forward slash podcast.