“The
Russians are coming! Russians are
coming!” trembled many Americans, who had never
visited
Some
believe we contained the barely economically viable Big Red machine by
sprouting costly missiles everywhere.
And those believers convinced us to escalate till 50,000 + of ours died
to stop a pink South Vietnamese domino, powered by bicycles and rice farmers,
from toppling America, destroying its freedoms, and staining us blood red.
We
blew about $500 billion in losing that pinko
domino. And today that little commie
nation merely wants to peddle trade, not invade us.
Today
we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation or any nation
so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure.
We are met on a great battlefield of that war… somewhere in
The
preemptive Iraq Occupation has morphed into an Endless Terror War. Surrounding the world with missiles will not
win this viral war. Neither will sending
more of our troops to bleed and die.
Sending many more Doctors Without Borders, Red
Cross, Peace Corps, etc., volunteers will stem the bleeding and dying on both
sides. Recruiting those volunteers will
reduce soaring terrorist recruitment.
In
the 21st century, FEAR is again the WORD our government uses to
implement myopic policies. They use it
to make us fear an enemy:
·
Whose inexpensive guerrilla army and war machine is financed by our oil
and drug addictions, which pads the checkbooks of rich Arabs and feeds poor
Afghan opium farmers.
·
Whose invasion fleet has to hijack unhardened airplanes to send an
invasion team of 18.
·
Who multiplies exponentially for each presumed “enemy” we kill, wound,
or imprison.
To
contain this enemy, reduce its numbers, and end the viral Endless Terror War,
we need a 21st century volunteer army whose troops are filled with heart and mind winners, whose deployment
eases our soldiers’ burdens.
Peoples
Lobby’s citizen-initiated American World Service Corps (AWSC) Congressional
Proposals creates that army. If enacted
in this Congress, each year for the next seven years approximately 140,000
additional Americans per year would voluntarily choose to serve in their choice
of the Peace Corps, AmeriCorps, Habitat for Humanity,
Head Start, Doctors Without Borders, Red Cross, International Rescue Committee,
OxFam, Mercy Corps, State Conservation Corps,
etc. By the seventh year, one million
American World Service Corps members of all ages, or less than .5th
of 1% of those aged 20-70+, would annually serve for a year or two at home or
abroad in such existing governmental and non-governmental organizations. After 20 years, Congress could consider sun-setting the AWSC legislation.
The
financial incentives that would encourage a million Americans a year to serve
include:
·
Two years of community plus two years of state
college or vocational tuition (approximately $15,000 in 2004 transferable to
family members).
·
Equivalent educational loan pay off or
·
Investment in Medical or IRA Accounts or
·
Home down payment or
·
Tax credits.
·
Readjustment allowance equivalent to what a Peace Corps volunteer
receives upon service completion. (About
$6,000)
How
do we pay for fielding a million American World Service Corps (AWSC) volunteers
a year?” For specifics, visit www.WorldServiceCorps.us/financing_awsc.html
The
simple, practical, and righteous answer is that just “investing” in the AWSC
saves us many multiples of what it costs, removes the economy-debilitating cost
of future wars, allows us to invest in infrastructure, and multiplies our
competitive and knowledge potential in today’s global village.
Waging
billions of acts of kindness builds peaceful, productive communities. It doesn’t destroy lives and economies, make
enemies, create refugees, require huge reparations, and generate enormously
enhanced security costs.
But
many earthlings who believe in an afterlife don’t seem to believe that their
Maker will credit their ledger for doing well on earth, unless the good doing
can seemingly enhance their personal or corporate checkbooks.
If
only they carefully counted the fiscal impacts of war on millions of souls,
rather than just on the checkbooks of a corporate few,
they would see that doing good does well for their bottom lines, as well as for
the checkbook they surrender on judgment day.
What
follows is an incomplete accounting for those number crunchers suffering from
earthbound cost analysis.
Department
of Defense Budget 2007 Request $439.9 billion.
Supplemental to cover 2006 combat operations $70. billion
Bridge
funding to cover
during the first part of 2007 $50. billion
In
addition to FY06 supplemental funding approved as part of Congress’ regular
2006 budget work $50. billion
Subtotaling $809.9
billion.
That
doesn’t include the following partial list of related costs.
President
Bush’s 2008 budget for the Department of Veterans Affairs provides
approximately $86.7 billion for veterans’ benefits and services: $41.8 billion
in discretionary funding, including medical care collections, and $44.9 billion
for entitlements. Of that total of
$173.4 billion, let’s estimate that 25% goes to Iraqi war related costs, or… $43.5 billion
President
Bush’s 2007 Energy Department Budget request was $23.6 billion. An increasing proportion of that goes to
developing weapons systems, which are concentrated on
In 2004, with only 10-15,000
mercenaries estimated in
$1. billion
Subtotaling $50.25 billion
Then
add some logical estimates for such lost investments that will weaken our
nation for decades in:
·
Research, patents, etc., that builds our competitiveness in the Global
Village. Estimate $20
billion.
·
Border security and enhanced security technology $10 billion
·
Infrastructure, potholed roads, aging bridges, anemic
rail, and other world lagging
transit systems which,
if updated, reduces our oil
addiction. $50 billion
·
Clean, safe alternative energy such as wind, solar,
water currents, bio diesel,
hydrogen fuel cells, etc,
that produces jobs, reduces
dependence on foreign
oil, decentralizes our energy
sources and thereby
checks our exposure to terrorists’
attacking nuclear
sites, and inhibits Global
Climate Change. $20 billion
·
Education that keeps our kids competitive, off the
streets, out of trouble, away from drugs, etc. $200 billion
For
more costs go to http://nationalpriorities.org
Subtotaling $300
billion
$809.9
billion + 50.25 billion + 300 billion = $1.160 TRILLION.
Real money. About
$1,160,150,000,000 worth.
Well,
surreal to middle class taxpayers.
But
like the brunt of our financing in recent years, it is mostly
borrowed. Since May 23, 2006 our
Federal Reserve ceased tracking M3, which helps decipher how money our
government may be printing to make economically depleted America seem richer
than it is.
To
the ultra rich, where wealth is increasingly concentrated, these costs mean
little, bother them little, and allow most of them to capitalize on the
difficult economic times those below them are enduring to acquire more
discounted assets. To Middle America, it
means more foreclosures, longer work hours, more 2nd jobs, higher
living costs, lower wages, harder struggles to pay for their children’s
education, more dilapidated roads and collapsed bridges, less of a medical and
old age safety net, etc…
Dividing the number of our military personnel into this incomplete list
of pre-emptive war costs, supporting just each of our 1.5 million military
personnel for this year costs $773,433.
|
|
What
would be the annual investment in sending 21 million Americans to serve under
the umbrella of the American World Service Corps for 27 years? About $30-35,000 per year.
For
an investment that is 1/23rd of our annual expenditure on
maintaining our military personnel as targets in
For
an investment of about $700 billion over 27 years, American World Service Corps
volunteers could once again set the model for improving the world – and
dramatically reducing the cost and use of our military.
Economics
involves counting, comparing, and contrasting expenditures. Smart economics involves comparing the
benefits of different investment approaches to see what most effectively builds
stable communities and most cost effectively spreads common sense throughout
the world.
Implementing
the AWSC provides
Who
pays for 21 million Americans serving for 27 years?
The
AWSC Congressional Proposals provide at least six funding streams. However, with enlightened leadership steering
our ship of state,
1.
Presidential Lobbying of the
Forbes Richest 400 Americans. If our next president lobbies the
Forbes 400 to donate 2% of their accumulated wealth per year, that donation
would underwrite the total estimated investment ($700 billion) of implementing
the AWSC for 27 years.
Presidential
candidates lobby billionaires to fund their campaigns. Ask those candidates. Will they lobby 400 billionaires to fund
creating a safer world for your loved ones?
(See The 2% Forbes solution to a well-armed Live Earth 7-11-07 http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_dwayne_h_070709_the_2_25_forbes_soluti.htm
2.
With the passage of the AWSC
legislation, a public AWSC web site will be created listing corporations that
have paid ZERO or little in taxes over the last 3-5 years. This public relations education will
encourage non-taxpayers to donate to underwrite the cost of the AWSC. Their non-tax deductible contributions will be posted at the web site.
3.
Import Levy on developed nations, such as
4.
Individual donations a la Gates, Buffet, and
Turner’s thoughtful gifts.
5.
Surtax on the richest 1% of Americans, who have
grown much richer during our middle class’s harder times.
6.
Excess War Profits Tax.
7.
Replacing some of the Bush cuts to the Inheritance Tax, so more Americans
grow their character by earning their wealth, rather than shrink their
character by inheriting wealth.
8. Tax
credits to those individuals and corporations who escrow their tax credit
donations to fund the AWSC. (Read the
legislation at http://www.worldservicecorps.us/world%20service%20backup%20proposal%201yr%20national%20service.htm
With
visionary leadership smartly pursuing these revenue sources, we invest in
serving Americans and creating a saner, safer world. Should our elected leaders fail to use these
least burdensome revenue streams then other more tradition streams of revenue
could be used that also do not impinge on the life needs of Middle
Americans. In addition, we can turn to
more traditional funding sources on which many legislative proposals will be
relying, such as re-instituting Clinton’s top bracket, or even moving toward
the top rates for the very rich that existed during President John Kennedy’s
term, when our middle class was growing and strengthening America.
During
the last week in August, People’s Lobby goes to DC seeking cosponsors for its
American World Service Corps Congressional Proposals. Please contact your congressional
representatives to become one of the bipartisan cosponsors of this critically
needed American World Service Corps (AWSC) Congressional Legislation.
Ask
your elected reps and presidential candidates, do they
want us to
quit being scared, broke, and marched into costly wars? Do they want us to excite the world again? To hear the world again cheer, “The Americans
are coming! The Americans are coming!”
Being
scared and complaining won’t change the world.
Helping People’s Lobby implement the American World Service Corps (AWSC)
will.
------
We fall into wasteful wars
because too few citizens understand domestic and world needs. Our most indelible educations come from first
hand experiences. Moving Americans from
bumper sticker analysis into meaningful world service does more than screeching
complaints about the State of the World.
Pressing Congress to enact PLI’s American World Service Corps Congressional
Proposals provides indelible learning educations.