Social Issues

All human behaviors and emotions are also found in the animal kingdom. The only thing that differentiates humans from animals is that we can consciously choose to not behave like animals. Our tribes have been attacking and killing each other for a million years. Our willingness to kill each other is proof that we have not evolved beyond the animal level and have not yet achieved humanity. We need to stop all wars and hate now, and learn to coexist and to accept our differences.  

Tribalism includes religion, racism, sexism, ageism, and all the other “ism”s. It is a natural biological feature of all social animal species. We have a biological need to belong to something. We cannot prevent people from being racist, but we can prevent people from acting racist.

Everyone should think that their tribe is the best, but we are all part of multiple tribes and they all overlap to some degree, which puts us all in the same sinking boat. I am a member of the male tribe, senior citizen tribe, Viking tribe, Seahawk tribe, computer nerd tribe, etc.

All tribes have a right to exist and a responsibility to give all other tribes the same rights that your tribe enjoys. Any tribe that interferes with another tribe’s rights will no longer be permitted to exist.   

I am not sure we can consider America as free when we have the world's highest prison incarceration rate. We have six times the world's average rate and I am pretty sure we don't have six times the bad people rate. We would need to release 1.75 million prisoners to equal the rest of the world. This is not only blacks, but all people who are disadvantaged by discrimination or lack of opportunity.

As soon as job training programs and mental health services are in place to provide a safe landing, we should release at least one million political prisoners from American prisons. These were otherwise good people who were victims of an unfair economic system that forced them into an unfair criminal justice system. They will all be given a one-time do-over and be provided with restitution in the form of free education, free job training, and a good paying guaranteed job that will allow them to raise a happy, healthy family and fully enjoy the American dream.

Since organized crime was also caused by political malfeasance (prohibition), I would also give them a one-time, now or never, do-over, dismiss any past wrongdoings and let them “clean” their money for a 10% laundry tax and then go legal and stay legal. The laundry tax could also apply to any un-taxed offshore funds being brought home. 

By decriminalizing drugs, gambling and prostitution, we can eliminate drug pushers, street gangs, meth labs, drug cartels and their associated violence and can better manage gambling and prostitution operations. Then, law enforcement can focus on catching actual criminals and rapists and no longer need to risk getting shot while performing a routine traffic stop. The slightest hint of pot smell gives the police probable cause to detain, search and shoot you if you appear to resist or flee.

Once decriminalized, the drug problem can come out into the daylight and social stigma can encourage young addicts to get treatment, get job training, and join the rest of society.

We are a nation of stimulant addicts. Just drive by a coffee kiosk any time of the day or night. When I was growing up, my father who worked with numbers all day, had a legal prescription for dextroamphetamine, a.k.a. white crosses or dex and it is now being given to children to treat ADHD.

Any politician that opposes legalizing drugs and yet supports legal and deadly alcohol and highly addictive nicotine is maintaining policies that fund organized crime and should be willing to take full personal responsibility for innocent people being killed by gang violence or by overzealous law enforcement.  

With automation and A.I. the future will have fewer good paying jobs. Businesses should be encouraged to provide workers with family healthcare benefits and income that will fully support a family, with a stay-at-home parent. For most existing responsible businesses already providing fair wages, this will not add anything to their payroll expense.

We also need a guest worker program to bring in workers that are desperately needed but not available with our workforce. Try to find a workforce to assemble cellphones or pick lettuce in this country. It can’t be done. When I was in college, I took a summer job at an electronics company drilling holes in printed circuit boards. After 4 hours, I left the facility to get lunch and never returned. Fortunately, this work is now done by robots.  

Worker training is a responsibility of the business and the government. Anyone who wants to learn a new trade or skill should be given a free education as long as they are making progress.

Businesses that need degreed workers should fund the college education for a basket of talented individuals who would be contractually obligated to the company for 5 years after graduation. If they are traded to another employer, the new employer would buy out the remaining contract. If they are released, they become unrestricted free agents and owe nothing for their education.

We need at least one million more men and women construction workers now and in the near future as we build more new homes and fix old infrastructure. I recently tried to hire contractors for some concrete and masonry work and they were booked though next year. When asked why they don't expand, they said it is because they can't find skilled workers and those that are any good are hard to keep.

I propose expanding the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and re-open military bases across the country to train workers in all phases of light, medium or heavy construction. After two years of basic training, they will be fully ready and able to start construction work anywhere in the country.

Those that want to stay in the Corps can re-enlist for 4 years and be deployed in this country and around the world wherever basic infrastructure needs to be built or repaired. This program would be best for trainees who need discipline and a structured environment to be successful. 

Government handouts to people who don't want to work doesn't sit well with people who work hard for their living. This program is only for people who want work and can work. It is not a handout. It is also not a charity.

We should create a safety-net that replaces welfare, disability and unemployment with paying work. If you lose your job on Friday, you can report to work on Monday, online or at your local PWP office, and your salary (with limits) and full benefits continue without interruption.

There would be no restriction on how long you can remain in the PWP. You will get score points for volunteering for assignments and extra points for unpleasant assignments and leadership points for performing supervisory roles. PWP workers will need to be present, online or in person, to be paid for those hours. Online work being performed may be real or simulated and your speed and accuracy will be measured. Our public spaces need a lot of work and you may find yourself cleaning bird-poop off statues or picking up trash, with a good income and good benefits.

Businesses will want to hire new workers from the PWP because workers with high scores are known to be reliable and hardworking. If you leave the PWP for a real job and then return to the PWP, you can resume with your prior score and status.

Government agencies and businesses that need temporary workers will also use the PWP for those jobs. If a government department has work that is not getting done due to budget issues, the PWP will do that work at no cost to the department.

The PWP also acts as job finding service and as the entry point for job training services for workers. PWP workers can continue to receive their salary and benefits as long as they are progressing in a job training program.

We can end gun violence simply by eliminating all of the uses for gun violence. Gun control has never worked. Buying a gun should be no more difficult than buying an electric toothbrush. 

Government policies that result in gun violence are being used by the establishment to generate political support from both parties for completely outlawing gun ownership.

The obvious solutions are to provide mental health services to everyone regardless of age or insurance, end the failed war on drugs, and provide economic and social opportunity and an economic safety net so you don't lose everything when you lose your job..

We can end abortion by eliminating the need for abortion and we need to increase the birth rate if we want any kind of future. I am personally opposed to abortion because I have a God-given biological imperative to attempt to reproduce as often as possible. 

I also support a woman's God-given right and responsibility to be selective. The creation of a life and the gift of immortality is the greatest gift a woman can give any man. I can never adequately thank the mother of my three children.

I believe that choice is an issue of personal freedom and women's rights. I was raised as a good protestant Christian, sang in the church choir, read the Bible from cover to cover and studied the teachings of Jesus, including those left out of the Bible, and I believe that Jesus never said that women were less than men.

I also believe that any business or organization has the freedom to set any rules for members, employees, or customers, for any reason, as long as they don't try to impose those rules on the freedoms of other people or organizations.

Abortion can be ended simply by eliminating the economic barriers and uncertainty that families face. Then we can end daycare, homelessness, hopelessness, domestic violence and teenage pregnancy.