People are frustrated. For many the American government is too big, expensive and falling deeper in debt. For others, we shouldn’t have gotten involved in Iraq or Afghanistan, and we shouldn’t engage in wars on terror or drugs. Unemployment is high and people are worried. Meanwhile, our politicians are mired in name-calling and gridlock. I can make a sign and protest in the streets. I can email or phone my representative or sign a petition. I can send a check to a political party. Nothing changes.

What do we collectively want? Different politicians tell us we want different things. We don’t vote on issues, so how do they know? They don’t. They’re guessing.

The media is a cacophony of different views, arguments and sound bites. In this environment, the loud messages of big donors and special interests are clear.

The way our political system is set up is producing the results we have. Instead of having the government we want, we have a government based on guesses, fighting for power and the influence of money.

The solution is for us to vote our opinions, to express them in a way that can be counted and seen by ourselves and by our representatives. Knowing what we want will make all the difference, both to us and to our government.

PeopleCount.org is building this solution and will unveil it by the end of September, 2012. In these blogs we’ll explore the problem in greater detail and see how the solution enables us to build a brighter future.