Obama Biden American World Service Corps request

 

[Please forward to proper Senatorial and campaign personnel.]  Initially sent 9-7-08

 

“Yes, we can…”

The 21st century army we need

 

Congratulations on your campaign’s selection of Joe Biden, for a great convention, and for exemplifying two great families in the upcoming campaign.

For decades, you have been considering legislative means of improving the world and America's middle class.  People's Lobby's nonpartisan American World Service Corps Congressional Proposals will do both.  The AWSC proposals also innovatively involve mega rich individuals and corporations in rebuilding America's middle class and the world. 

Addresses world and domestic problems

As you well know, problems have spiked over recent years.  Doubling the size of the Peace Corps, AmeriCorps, and Head Start helps.  But the breath and depth of problems requires a much bolder strategy.  The AWSC Congressional Proposals dramatically expand those and many other existing do-good governmental and nongovernmental organizations into the robust forces that today’s world needs. 

Implementing the AWSC proposals fields 21 million American volunteers over the next 27 years.  The AWSC provides the opportunity for Middle Americans of all ages to serve and understand the world, cover educational costs, and build safe and secure housing and retirement for themselves and others. 

Done properly, the AWSC can inspire other nations to field similarly sized forces for good.  If that happens, robust international World Service Corps will provide actions and examples that, unlike mere words, will change the world.

AWSC includes unique, non-traditional funding mechanisms

Via implementing the AWSC’s unique financing mechanisms, we can also involve the super rich and mega corporations in voluntarily investing their wealth in making the future safer for their children and grandchildren.  One of those proposed funding mechanisms is the Forbes 2% Solution.  The Forbes 2% Solution addresses the economic migraines Middle America is suffering as they watch billionaires proliferate and the middle class deteriorate.  Middle America is ready to see more done by the Super Rich, and the AWSC Proposals offers them the opportunity to show Middle America who among them is willing to do so.

If Barack and you are elected, you could use the AWSC to change the world.  You could use its voluntary financing mechanisms to inspire some of America’s mushrooming mega wealthy to strengthen the middle class and build a saner, safer world.

How about a Joe Sixpack lunch?

After your election or perhaps even during your campaign, why not have a working class lunch that would galvanize working Americans who could imagine, pay attention to, and appreciate this outside of the lunch box effort.

Imagine that shortly after electing a couple hard working middle class guys to run the country, you guys invite the Forbes 400 Richest Americans, and perhaps some other unlisted billionaires, to a White House White Castle lunch.  (If Scranton and Chicago had the square White Castle slider burgers that Cleveland had, you’ll know what this lunch looks like.)ouHouH  

  There you both speak of the state of the world, middle-class housing and education needs, and the greatness of Americans when they fight a common enemy and build community.  You speak of the benefits to them and their loved ones of fielding a robust AWSC.  You speak of the need for a new strategy, a fresh kind of productive service, a peaceful nation building army that addresses 21st century Global Village needs. 

You demand nothing of these rich and powerful.  You just talk to them about the AWSC legislation, which hopefully is introduced by then.  You point them to the AWSC website and its Forbes 400 Richest Charitable Donations spreadsheet, where Forbes shows that very few have made noticeable charitable contributions to address American and world needs.  Some of those billionaires will be moved to help underwrite the generation long AWSC investment in doing what needs doing.

In 1982, America had 13 billionaires.  In 2007, the 400th person on the Forbes 400 was worth $1.4 billion.  Collectively, they had accumulated $1.54 trillion worth of wealth.  If the Forbes 400 made an annual 2% donation to the AWSC escrowed account, they would relieve the government of using the six traditional taxing mechanisms outlined in the AWSC Congressional Proposals.  The Mega Wealthy could be involved in changing the world by easily underwriting all of the investment in fielding twenty-one million American volunteers over the next twenty-seven years to address poverty, climate change, ignorance, and hatreds.  Such a simple investment would also be good for their businesses and investments.

Slowly Americans are awakening to the tsunami of problems approaching.  Slowly they are becoming aware of crippling economic disparities.  Quickly we need to address these issues.

Surging and serving to defeat 21st century problems

Implementing a robust AWSC addresses these problems by surging peaceful, productive troops into the field of economic development.  Simultaneously, it gives Middle Americans another means to serve and earn their way up the economic and educational ladder.  While doing good, the AWSC raises our public policy IQ, so that we make smarter public policy decisions in the future.

The AWSC is the “Power of our example” that the world and America wants and needs to see, rather than the “Example of our power” that increases terrorist recruitment.

The AWSC offers the Barney Smith families another hand up, rather than a hand out to the Smith Barney family. 

Imagine how much more quickly New Orleans would have been rebuilt, if the AWSC had been up and running then...  Imagine how much more ready to repair Gustav, Hanna, Ike's… destruction we would be today and tomorrow.

The AWSC provides the teams that will strengthen America by having Americans “Step up, stand up, and put Country First,” as we have pointed out in a similar communiqué to the Republican Presidential Campaign.

The key AWSC proposed bill is at

http://www.worldservicecorps.us/world%20service%20key%20proposal%202yr%20volunteer.htm

Information on financing the AWSC is at http://www.worldservicecorps.us/financing_awsc.htm

An op-ed titled “The 2% Forbes solution to a well-armed Live Earth” is at http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2007/07/12/18434960.php

People’s Lobby has sought support from the all the presidential candidates for its nonpartisan AWSC Congressional Proposals.  Senator Obama wrote this about the AWSC Proposals after learning about it on the campaign trail, http://www.worldservicecorps.us/Obama%20worthwhile%20journey.doc  His staffers have followed up with phone discussions since.

During the August 2007 recess, I met with the bipartisan staffers listed at this link and received positive AWSC feedback from all http://worldservicecorps.us/staff%20met%20august%2007.htm.  People’s Lobby has maintained email and phone contact with several of them since, as we move forward seeking Congressional sponsors.

Would you let us know if your staff is interested in helping move the AWSC Congressional Proposals forward?

 

 

American World Service Corps www.WorldServiceCorps.us
AWSC summary info http://worldservicecorps.us/peoples%20lobby%20has.htm
People's Lobby www.PeoplesLobby.us
Dwayne Hunn, Ph.D.,  Executive Director 415-383-7880
Author of "Ordinary People Doing the Extraordinary"
Recent YouTubes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRbaWfRantA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFMVeRVTvm4