politics – jamie billingham

A graphic novel style illustration with a vintage, textured feel, titled "THE ULTIMATE INVESTMENT." in a yellow box at the top left. An older woman with grey hair and a worn vest kneels on a wooden dock, pointing toward the water and instructing two young children, a boy and a girl sitting beside her. Both children hold their own fishing rods with lines cast into a calm lake. A speech bubble above the woman contains a fish icon, while speech bubbles above the children contain gear icons. The background shows mountains and pine trees under a warm sunrise sky.

Teaching a Nation to Fish: The Case for an Autonomous, Skilled, and Problem-Solving Populace

Posted on February 17, 2026February 17, 2026 by Jamie

The 2026 BC Budget highlights the gap between complex problems and limited resources. While the instinct is to adopt a defensive posture, we cannot simply manage our way to prosperity. To break the cycle of crisis management, we need a populace equipped to solve problems, not just a government that manages them. 1. Stop…

Should Mayors Rule the World?

Posted on September 22, 2013February 8, 2021 by Jamie

This interesting TedTalk the brings up lots of great questions about modern democracy. I have long thought that small is better. Small units of government – decision-making and action-taking units – can access and leverage local knowledge way better than provincial, state or country wide systems. Provided of course they have a strategy or system…

It’s Not Apathy – It’s Barriers

Posted on July 26, 2012February 8, 2021 by Jamie

During the last municipal election I had a rather disturbing conversation with one of the folks running for council. The gist of the conversation was that I believed that city hall, elected councillors, and city staff could do a better job of engaging, informing, inviting, and generally including constituents in local initiatives, decisions and plans….