National State of the Year?
Okay, so I’ve been thinking about this for a while. I think it would be super awesome to have some sort of program to nominate a National State of the Year each year (or maybe every two or four years). States would put together bids detailing what they have to offer (though they wouldn’t be required to submit a bid every year, of course), and a national committee would decide which would be best. There would be some sort of US Fair (like the state fair, but with all states represented instead of all counties), sporting events (maybe this is where we would have our Olympic qualifiers, and maybe we could line it up with a professional sports all-star game, or a college sports championship?), concerts, and just general awesomeness and fun. There would be events held in all parts of the state over the year. When a state wins, federal grants would be given to it to make special improvements and facilities (they would describe what they would use the money for in their proposals), but the state would be expected to contribute its own money as well. Once a state wins, it shouldn’t be allowed to apply again for 10 years or so.
I think this program would basically be a great way to instill civic pride and get states to improve themselves. And it would be just really cool. Obviously it would be harder for some states to win than others (Delaware vs. California; really?), but the committee could take that into effect, possibly having certain years for big states and certain years for small states, or something like that. So it would basically be the same idea as the Olympics or hosting the World Cup, but on a state-by-state basis, and not just sports.
Any thoughts? Sound cool?
