" The problem in defense spending is to figure out how far you should go without destroying from within what you are trying to defend from without." Dwight D. Eisenhower
Investing in a peaceful future through an escrowed, locked box AWSC account offers the mega rich and non-tax paying corporations the opportunity to help."
When budgeted, off-line, and hidden costs are compiled, our recent terror-induced war policies have cost us about $760,000 per active military personnel in 2007. http://www.worldservicecorps.us/revsAWSCcosts.xls At about $35,000 per volunteer, the American World Service Corps (AWSC) is a bargain, and its service-learning-doing components will keep us from future trillion dollar wars.
People's Lobby' AWSC Congressional Proposals have six traditional and six non-traditional funding mechanisms, which can be reviewed at http://www.worldservicecorps.us/financing_AWSC.htm.
In 2007 the accumulated wealth of the Forbes 400 Richest Americans was over $1.54 trillion. According to Forbes Magazine's Charitable Giving documentation for the Forbes 400, stunning numbers of them contribute 0-5% of their wealth in charitable contributions. If the Forbes 400 annually donated 1.7% of their wealth to the locked box escrowed AWSC account, $706.86 billion would be raised. This would more than fund the financial rewards given to the 21 million AWSC workers serving over 27 years, as well as cover the program costs of those serving in governmental programs.
If those Corporations Who Pay No Taxes also donated less than 2% of what they were supposed to pay in taxes, an additional locked-box AWSC fund would be available to cover the nominal living stipend that non-governmental, governmental agencies pay to pay AWSC volunteers who choose to serve in them. Thus, NGO's like the Red Cross, Mercy Corps, Oxfam, Habitat, Doctors without Borders, and other lesser well-known NGOs would have the modest daily living expenses of their AWSC volunteers covered. http://www.worldservicecorps.us/corps_paid_no_taxes.xls
With visionary leadership, just these two innovative funding streams would cover the estimated $700 billion 27-year cost of having 21 million AWSC volunteers building sane communities and winning hearts and minds. http://www.worldservicecorps.us/revsAWSCcosts.xls
http://www.worldservicecorps.us/financing_AWSC.htm
Just motivating the Forbes 400 to donate 2% of their wealth into the AWSC locked box AWSC escrowed investment account would allow 21 million Americans to serve, learn, and grow a peaceful world over the next generation. This AWSC account would involve the mega rich and character rich Americans in producing a safer, more profitable world, without hedging on derivatives.
These non-traditional funding mechanisms would dramatically reduce or eliminate the need to rely on traditional taxing mechanisms during these taxing economic times. Using these creative financing mechanisms would allow everyone "" rich, middle class, and poor to profit handsomely.
Most of the world's mega rich and large corporations are aware enough to realize that peace provides them more opportunities to continue building wealth. Hopefully, more mega rich and large corporations have learned from the looming depression how wasteful and destructive $4-10 trillion wars are.
Many of mega rich and large corporations have an instinctive reaction against any kind of taxation. With the People's Lobby AWSC Congressional Proposals, we offer a donation mechanism that allows them to participate voluntarily in building a sane and profitable world. By tabulating the donations of the mega rich and large corporations on a spreadsheet at the AWSC website, involved Americans will feel heartened by billionaires' donations to make the world safer for their children and grandchildren.
In a letter emailed to Obama and Biden in September 2008, People's Lobby proposed that if elected they host a White House White Castle luncheon for the Forbes 400 at which these untraditional funding mechanisms be suggested. (Senator McCain and Governor Palin received a similar letter) It is our belief that several Forbes 400 members would be open to being part of the 2% Solution, which would sit well with struggling Americans and influence the reticent rich potential donors to become part of the solution.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
