Tag Archives: Forbes 400

Gates Buffett

 

To Bill Gates & Warren Buffett:

Re: Seeking support statement for implementing an adjunct to Gates-Buffett Giving Pledge Philosophy.

It is People’s Lobby’s hope that your staff, you, and Mr. Buffett will decide to print (or video, publicize, etc.) something positive about why the world needs our:

1)  American World Service Corps National Service (AWSCNS) Congressional Proposal and it’s

2)  Nontraditional funding mechanism (NTFM) components that uses mega wealth donations to dramatically improve real world health.

With a miniscule staff, it is difficult to convert the overwhelming support we receive in presentations and from about 50 congressional staff visits into introducing and implementing the robust AWSCNS Proposal.  Less robust proposals have been introduced, like the Serve America Act of 2009 in honor of Ted Kennedy, whose goals were never met; and the Inspire Act of 2017 by my Congressman Jared Huffman.

Supportive words about the AWSCNS would bolster all three national service proposals.

For over 10 years, People’s Lobby has been pushing to introduce and implement the American World Service Corps National Service (AWSCNS) Congressional Proposal, which would involve 21,000,000 Americans in full-time, voluntary national service at home and abroad for the ensuing 27 years through such organizations as:

Peace Corps, AmeriCorps, Habitat for Humanity, Doctors Without Borders, Head Start, Mercy Corps, Oxfam, Americans Friends Service Committee, TechnoServe, Heifer, Red Cross, Save The Children, Mercy Ships, International Rescue Committee, State Conservation Corps, In-Need Schools, Hospitals Therapy Wards, Homes for The Elderly, Homeless Centers, Prison Education Programs, Medical Clinics, Drug Rehab Centers, etc.

To fund this magnificent force for peace, People’s Lobby’s nontraditional funding components indirectly connects with and increases the growth of the Gates-Buffett Giving Pledge Philosophy.

A 1-2% annual voluntary wealth donation, escrowed to an AWSC National Service Investment Account, from just the Forbes 400 would totally underwrite the AWSCNS investment in more rapidly involving millions in spreading health, welfare, sustainability, and understanding worldwide. The successful implementation of a robust AWSCNS might inspire other nations to do similar robust national service corps and, hopefully, shift our over-reliance on militaristic forces to peace building national service corps.

Some op-eds that detail various reasons why we should do this at http://www.opednews.com/author/author6270.html.

A power point on how the nontraditional Forbes 400 funding component would work at http://peopleslobby.us/coverage/powerpoints/Forbes006Funds.  Click the “Forbes006Funds” and view the power-point at the site.

More power points at http://peopleslobby.us/coverage/powerpoints/ .

Some experiences from my service as an Urban Community Development Peace Corps Volunteer in Mumbai, India that motivates me and supporters to do this at http://peopleslobby.us/coverage/opeds/peace-corps/.

Thanks for considering.

 

Dwayne Hunn, PhD.

People’s Lobby, Executive Director

359 Jean St., Mill Valley, California 94941

415-383-7880 dh@peopleslobby.us

 

UnorthodoxFinancing

From the American World service Corps National Service Congressional Proposal

(G)                Donations by the Forbes Richest Americans  (The  2% Forbes 400 Solution)                                                                Over the last 30+ years, the wealth of America’s richest taxpayers has increased disproportionately as compared to the stagnated and declining wealth increase among America’s low and middle classes.  Fed Chair Allan Greenspan expressed his concern about the increasing income and wealth disparity between upper and lower classes in his March 2, 2005 testimony before Congress.  His answer to spreading wealth was to increase educational opportunities for Americans.  As Greenspan noted, the GI Bill of Educational Rights gave America an opportunity to build and strengthen their middle class.  The AWSC proposals increase America’s educational quality and capacity, while building our economy and national character

(H)                Consequently, a public web site linked to the AWSC web site will list the Forbes Richest 400 Americans, who have benefited most from our nation’s human and physical infrastructure.  Merely to be on this list in 2015, one had to be a BILLIONAIRE worth 1.7 billion.

Those who live in luxury bestowed in large part by the skill and education of all Americans will be asked at the web site, “What have you contributed this year to help make the world safer for today and tomorrow’s children?   Each month the web site will list donations that America’s richest have made to implementing the AWSC and reducing its cost to America’s taxpayers.

(I)                      Donations by certain low tax paying corporations.  — A large number of Fortune 500 corporations annually pay little or no taxes, according to such organizations as Citizens for Tax Justice (CTJ) and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP).  At the AWSC website, with additional information supplied by other relevant federal agencies and information sources, those corporations who have paid none, little, or received federal tax paybacks (negative taxes) for the past five years would be listed.  This section of the AWSC web site would strongly urge these light or none paying corporations to contribute to underwriting the cost of making the world safer for them, their businesses, and their children.  The site will remind them, including their stockholders, that by doing good — companies can do well.

These donations would be listed alongside their researched nominal and effective corporate tax rates and tax payments.  Such socially conscious donations could significantly reduce the AWSC’s cost.  For those who paid little, none, or negative taxes, Congress should not allow the donations to be tax deductible.  (See http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/markets/2016/03/07/27-giant-profitable-companies-paid-no-taxes/81399094/  for some details.)

(J)                    An AWSC spreadsheet for America’s highest compensated celebrities.

(K)                  An AWSC spreadsheet for America’s highest compensated athletes.

(L)                   An AWSC spreadsheet for America’s highest compensated CEOsCould these donate to AWSCNS escrowed account? http://www.forbes.com/lists/2012/12/ceo-compensation-12_rank.html  An AWSC spreadsheet listing CEO compensations of those who have received federal bail outs.

(M)                Charitable Trusts, Philanthropic Foundations, etc.  – Trusts and foundations may find the American World Service Corps meshes well with their goals of improving world and nation and reflect that in grants and donations.  If the Gates Foundation wants to eradicate AIDS, a robust army of American volunteers can make that happen by doing the hard, face-to-face groundwork.  If we want to reverse climate degradation, we will need more than 4,000 power point presenters, we will need tens of thousands of AWSC volunteers working daily for years with a variety of effective NGOs.  Foundations’ contributions to those NGOs (non-governmental organizations) working under the AWSC umbrella would also be listed at the AWSC site.

12)           Daily Stipend Costs of AWSC volunteers serving in NGOs

Initially, this AWSC proposal leaves the daily service stipends paid to those who volunteer for NGO service as the NGO’s funding responsibility.  However, the unorthodox (or as yet non-traditional) funding mechanisms listed here offer NGOs another means of funding some or all of their volunteers’ daily stipend expenses, as our proposed 2% Forbes 400 Donation graphic depicts.  Congress could allow those donated funds to cover daily stipend costs.

financing-awsc

AWSC summary

“This country runs on laws.  If you want to change the country, write its laws.”

Ed & Joyce Koupal, founders of People’s Lobby

(Draft page… rebuilding site.)

Early in 2005 People’s Lobby (PLI )initiated the American World Service Corps National Service Congressional Proposal (AWSCNS) .  It is neither a direct nor indirect initiative with which People’s Lobby has had past successes.

It is a congressional proposal that benefits America and the world and raises the public policy IQ for both and requires introduction through visionary legislators.  Enacting the AWSC Congressional Proposals would:

  • Remind citizens that they are the ultimate source of laws;
  •  Involve citizens in healthy civic affairs;
  • Strengthen the thinning character and patriotic fabric of the nation;
  • Address the root causes of terror, refugee  tragedies, climate devastation, etc.;
  • Press red and blue-staters, red-necks and blue-noses and humans of all pigments into working on and learning from pressing domestic and international problems;  
  • Build a one million strong all volunteer peaceful national service corps by inspiring  more to serve in already existing do-good organizations such as Peace Corps, AmeriCorps, Habitat, Doctors Without Borders, Head Start, Red Cross, International Rescue Committee, Oxfam, Mercy Corps, State Conservation Corps, FINCA, TechnoServe, Fuller Center for Housing, Amnesty International, Greenpeace, U.N. Refugee Agency, American Friends Service Committee,  as well as in local non-profits, schools, homes for aged, physical therapy wards, penal institutions, etc.
  • Involve rich and poor, young and old , red necks and blue noses in service to the nation and world that will dramatically raise national and international civic actions and IQs.   

***

The American World Service Corps Congressional Proposal neither establishes a big new bureaucracy nor is expensive.

It is not merely shorthand for a bigger Peace Corps, although it will make the Peace Corp much bigger than it has ever been.

It is envisioned as a small administrative office that does some marketing, disseminates paychecks to its full time volunteers, and takes care of their tuition and other post service grants and gratuities. It is a moniker, a name tag that allows us to model what should be the new 21st century army that  we and other nations should be sending out into the world. If one makes such service meaningful, it  can be as or more valuable than most college educations.

Its primary raison d’etre is to send many more volunteers to rub shoulders and do good through the already existing and effective do-good organizations such as  those mentioned above.

These organizations know what to do with additional full time human resources.

This AWSC Umbrella heightens the effectiveness of these groups by enlarging them at a time when complexities and needs are growing.  As the Greatest Generation passes, we need to involve the push-button, play-game generation as well as the more mature in active service, which builds the nation’s character and prepares us to better handle the real world.

 Summary

The American World Service Corps National Service  (AWSCNS) Congressional Proposal would field a robust, peaceful, productive, paid volunteer army of American do-gooders who would choose to serve at home or abroad.  It would reduce conflicts, address needs, and make life easier for our military and healthier for our citizens.  It is NOT another program or large bureaucracy.  It is merely an umbrella, a moniker that feeds more volunteers into proven existing do-good organizations and non-profits.

How Fund?

In addition to the traditional revenue streams listed in the AWSCNS proposal that would fund this investment in our people and world, we have added nontraditional, voluntary, revenue streams that could fund this entire generation-long National Service Program without taxing Americans.

The Gates & Buffett Giving Pledge has helped PLI’s long effort to establish a  publically displayed Socially Conscious Giving Spreadsheet whose fund are escrowed to only be spent on AWSC volunteers who serve.  Click though to view the Forbes .0006% Powerpoint.

Undersized yesterday –>today’s growing problems

John Kennedy told former Senator Harris Wofford that he wanted the Peace Corps to reach 100,000 a year because, “It would then be considered serious.  In one decade, it would reach 1 million volunteers.”  In the last 54+ years, only about 220,000 PCVs have trained and served, meaning perhaps 180,000+ have completed service.  For more than a generation, we have failed to come close to implementing a vision that would cost effectively and dramatically reduce poverty, ignorance, hatred, and terrorist recruitment.  We missed the opportunity to dramatically increase our public policy IQ, understand the dynamics of the Global Village and its economies, and reduce the hatred fired at our troops, and care for and understand environmental needs.

We are leaving big problems to the next generation.  We owe them a big, but cost effective, AWSCNS solution.

Think of your favorite local non-profits. Could they accomplish more good if they had one or a few full time volunteers aged from a fresh 18 to an experienced 70+?  Could they enrich your community and raise its public policy IQ?

Joint Peace Corps

PLI’s AWSCNS Proposal urges that other nations emulate similar national service programs.  Imagine what could happen if the nations of the world built robust national service programs that rivaled the size of it militaries.

Imagine if People’s Lobby’s successful efforts in 1989 to have Congresswoman Boxer introduce HR1807, the US-Soviet Peace Corps, had grown over the years.  Imagine how much safer and saner today’s world would be.

In July of 2016,  PLI discussed with Senator Boxer’s staff  the possibility of reintroducing an updated HR 1807 .  Give her a call and express your support before she leaves office .

If you would like to read 60+OpEds detailing benefits of an AWSC, click OEN OpEds.  For some videos, click videos.  For one of several 30 minute overviews at the videos link, try this Mel Presents.

If able and willing, press your candidates or respected celebrities to help move this AWSC solution.  Thanks.

  Power Point  Summary

Today we have tooo many who pontificate about what should be done to address foreign and domestic needs who have little or no grassroots experience with those problems.  A robust AWSC National Service program smartens our and other nations in how to more cost effectively and peacefully address domestic and world problems.

Click  Why Need AWSC Umbrella

to view Power Point overview of why AWSC National Service umbrella is needed, including reference to non-traditional funding mechanisms that piggy-back on the Gates Buffet Giving Pledge –>

Uber-rich <2% solution for world peace  Will super-rich step up?

Embeded chart reflecting how the Forbes 400 alone, using one of the AWSC Congressional Proposal’s non-traditional funding mechanisms could easily fund this wise AWSCNS investment.

How to fund without taxing:

forbes006funds