By the year 2015, just over a decade from now, it is predicted that over 50% of the world’s population will live in mega-cities, each with many millions in population. For instance, Tokyo is predicted to have a population of 27.5 million, and New York City 17.9 million. “In 1950, there was only one city with a population of more than 10 million—New York. In 2015 there will be 21, and the number of urban areas with populations between five and ten million will shoot from 7 to 37.” (National Geographic, November,2002). The most compelling question facing all of us as we move further into the 21st Century is: How do we intelligently manage humanity, given our current world economy (globalization), combined with this urban explosion? Our only VIABLE choice, I would assert, is by implementing ECONOMIC INCLUSIVISM, outlined herein (copy pages 1-4).
In the 1930’s, the wealthy industrialists in Germany threw their money and power behind Hitler because they believed that turning Germany into a police state was the best way to protect their “assets”. This same erroneous thinking is being applied in America today. As certain proof of this police state mentality, we have five times more persons incarcerated in America, today, than any other country in the world! Must we re-live the nightmare of another Hitler’s Germany, before Americans finally wake up?
Indeed, the apathy in America and the degree to which we have moved down the path towards a right-wing police state is frightening!
The expose' below, when a Plaintiff accidentally stumbled into the inner-workings of the dangerous ultra-right wing agenda, at the highest levels of our government, is symptomatic of this apathy. [and clearly evidenced by the indifference to the tens of millions of dollars spent by the ultra-right wing, to buy the 2002 mid-term election -- and thus garner control of America's political agenda i.e., to turn America into a police state]!
We did not arrive at this cross-road in our history in a vacuum, and in an effort to counter our current dangerous direction and agenda, I have looked to root causes and outlined the following alternative bifurcated solution for economic/prison reforms (which in this context bear a symbiotic relationship to each other).
We do not need to turn America into a police state, with severely diminshed civil liberties (both part of the plan and propaganda by the extreme right) but we must make certain systemic changes, i.e., we do have a choice.
Specifically, we need to take certain legislative and constitutional reform action so that we can intelligently address the social chaos and apathy which has been caused by the colliding forces of globalization and automation/technology on our social institutions. These forces, while offering enormous social benefits, have also created a whole new set of social problems, including disintegration of the family, and the proliferation of violence in our schools, churches and workplaces; and thus call for a whole new set of social solutions.
Our response as individuals to the negeative side effects of globalization and automation/technology has resulted in an explosion in the sale of home security devices, as we barricade ourselves in our homes. Before WW II, it was not uncommon for families to leave their homes unlocked when they went away on vacation.
On a governmental level, over the past 50 years plus, we have chozen Band-Aid programs to counter these adverse effects, over systemic change, and built the largest prison system in the world. Indeed, every dollar we waste in our insatiable need to incarcerate persons, is a dollar that is deducted from educating our youth, given our equally insatiable demand for lower taxes. The problem, it seems, is one of twisted priorities where we spend billions in tax dollars annually to correct problems we ourselves have created by inept Band-Aid programs/policies! And the War against Iraq is a textbook example of our twisted priorities where we are bankrupting America with a problem we should never have created in the first place!
The solution proposed, here, is devoid of an ideological agenda and the sole criteria has been to find practical solutions, which when applied in concert, will both preserve our freedoms under the Bill of Rights, and create a "safe and sane" environment in which to live and raise our children in the 21st Century economy. Indeed, the systemic changes proposed, here, provide the only VIABLE means we have by which to preserve the Bill of Rights, and reverse our current oppressive police state solutions. All other paths lead to further diminution of our individual civil liberties. My background for this proposed solution includes over 20 years employment in the American criminal justice system, as a probation officer and chief probation officer, and I was a candidate for Congress in the 2000 election. I have titled this seven-point program for economic/social reform:
ECONOMIC INCLUSIVISM: A 21st Century Solution
[Social/Prison Reforms] 1) We need to re-classify all crime in the future as "violent" or "non-violent", and discard the archaic terms "felony" and "misdemeanor". The word felony has been implanted in the public's mind to mean "armed and dangerous"....and yet over 70% of our prison inmates (all felons)are in prison for non-violent offenses....as a result, the term "felony" is distracting us from addressing the real problem....the violent offender.
2) We need a much greater use of "Shock" Incarceration (A sentencing alternative I authored in the 1960's); a greater use of fines and probation (both civil and criminal), in lieu of incarceration, and an expanded menu of sentencing alternatives. [We have 5% of the world's population, and 25% of all prison inmates on earth, in our prisons! If we had the same proportion of inmates to general population as the rest of the civilized world, we would have 400,000 persons incarcerated, not 2,000,000, as we do at present! And yet our PR is that we are the most free country in the world? We daily turn non-violent persons into violent career criminals, with over 99% released back into society, making life in America MORE dangerous, not less! Prison should be a last resort, not first.]
3) We need the creation of Federal Regional Diagnostic and Treatment Centers, for the diagnosis and treatment of the violent offender. We have learned a great deal about violent behavior in recent years (see www.brainplace.com), and yet we do not have a cohesive or concerted national program or policy in America for dealing with this national epidemic and disgrace. The sheer numbers of homicides by handguns, alone, tells the whole story: Canada 151, Australia 57, Germany 373, Japan 19, England and Wales 54, the United States 11,789! When we add in all deaths by guns, including the fact that 9 children are killed by guns everyday in America, our gun violence escalates to a staggering 28,663! Also, we need to allow for voluntary admissions to these Centers, to prevent juvenile and family violence. It is essential that we seek out "problem-solving", not "punishment" oriented solutions, which actually exacerbate crime.
4) We need to pick-up the lead taken by England, in treating drug addiction as a "medical" rather than a "criminal" problem, so that we can EFFECTIVELY curb drug-related crime, and keep drugs out of the hands of our youth. To demonstrate how specious our thinking has become in this area, alcohol and tobacco kill ten of thousands of persons annually, and yet these drugs are not classified as "dangerous". The tiny handful of persons with "addictive personalities" has totally shaped our drug policies while "addiction", in all of its forms, can only EFFECTIVELY be treated with a medical solution. We have wasted billions on interdiction, and yet, youth drug abuse is actually increasing.
[Economic Reforms] 5) To address our insidious practice of "exclusion", Congress must enforce a citizen's legal right to work, as enacted by Congress in "The Full Employment Act of 1946", and as outlined in the Democratic National Platform position asserting "Opportunity to every American". The right to work and be a productive member of one's society is also a human right. Accordingly, we must ratify the following constitutional amendment: "Work shall hereafter be the legal right of every citizen, and Congress shall, except for retirement/disability programs under federal jurisdiction, make no laws which will abridge the right of any citizen of legal age, to work and be a productive citizen." [Our lapse in enlightenment regarding this urgently needed systemic change -- believed by the ignorant and uninformed to be "communism" -- combined with some really peculiar notions about guns, is the cause for almost all violent crime in America].
6) To ensure enforcement/fund this legal right, Congress would create a privately owned, federally mandated, mutual insurance plan, with limited ownership by each person who works, which would provide work/training to any citizen who applies. Work could include: Child care for low income working families, building a high-speed rail system, the urgent need outlined by the NEA for School Modernization, the creation of Federal Regional Diagnostic and Treatment Centers for the diagnosis and treatment of the violent offender, repairing our rotting infrastructure (the list of social benefits is endless). As owners of this plan, each worker would vote on proposed national projects and dividends would be paid annually from unused funds. A projected cost of 8% would be less than the worker currently pays for welfare. [Like Social Security and military retirement moneys, Economic Inclusivism would STRENGTHEN, not weaken the business community....these steps are necessary to preserve, not harm capitalism in a rapidly changing economy....and prevent our further movement down the erroneous path towards communism or towards the other extreme, fascism (our current movement), both of which require a dictator, and the wholesale loss of our civil liberties, to hold the government in place.]
7) Since this program of "inclusion" would address 95% of our social ills (crime, welfare, drugs, etc., and exacerbated in many cases by inept Band-Aid programs), the federal budget could be greatly reduced and our current Federal Income Tax would be replaced with a National Sales Tax, value-added tax, a national lottery, or some combination of taxes other than our current Federal Income Tax. We currently spend 26 billion annually for the Internal Revenue Service, and corporations and individuals spend trillions trying to get around the Tax Code, all of which is passed on to us, the consumer, in the higher cost of consumer goods.
HOW TO READ AND UNDERSTAND ECONOMIC INCLUSIVISM (EI):
Dear Reader: We live in an era where new ideas are quickly labeled, or categorized, so that they can just as quickly be dismissed or sabotaged. The Catch 22 in this approach to problem solving is that our problems never get solved and we persist in applying solutions to our social problems which no longer work…. in a world that is changing whether we like it or not. For instance, after years of hearing that EI is based on the Communist Manifesto, etc., or that the intent is to carry out some left- or right-wing agenda, the following is suggested to the reader:
The various components of EI were picked with the same dispassion a mechanic might use in sifting through their toolbox to pick out those tools which can best be used to make an engine operate at its highest efficiency. Or, to use another metaphor, with the same considered thought a golfer might use in picking the right club so as to get the best score. There is no hidden political agenda; the only question being asked: What tools do we need to use so that we can intelligently address the social problems we face today? An accurate “solution” the ONLY consideration. A point frequently lost on ideologues. [To distinguish from "communism", for the ignorant and uninformed, communism incorporates the concept of government ownership of business, which I find patently absurd! Here, the program is carried out via Economic Inclusivism, which is distinctly different from the methodology used under communism.]
The colliding forces of globalization and automation/technology on our social institutions have created a whole new set social problems, and applying the "tools” we used in the past to address these new problems not only don’t work in this new era, they in fact exacerbate our social problems. For instance, when we have five times more persons incarcerated in America, per capita, than any other country in the world it should be obvious that the provincial approach to addressing the problem of crime in America, simply isn’t working. (Particularly when every dollar we spend on this expensive approach is deducted from educating our youth).
It would be more accurate for the reader to see this proposed solution as intended to preserve “capitalism” and our fundamental freedoms, rather than an effort to save the poor from starvation (a frequent misinterpretation). Saving the poor from starvation was a consideration in picking the “tools” proposed, here, only to the extent that saving the poor from starvation IS in the best interest of the rich. That is, by PREVENTING our current movement down the path toward one or the other of the two extremes: communism or fascism (our current trend), this solution is in the best interest of rich and poor, alike. In large part, what makes Economic Inclusivism particularly viable is that it is a “win-win” solution. Our current direction, where the rich win and the poor lose is a slippery slope where in time everyone will lose….in short, our current solutions are a prescription for social disaster.
(Note: this web page does not allow for italicized words, and thus an apology is made, here, to the reader for using caps with some words, throughout, to emphasize a point, where the use of italicized words would have been much preferred.)
THE HARVARD BOYS CLUB
PROLOGUE
Economic Inclusivism is a social blueprint to address the adverse impact of Globalization and Automation on our social institutions. As Capitalism and Communism contain certain distinct socioeconomic elements, so too does Inclusivism, and as outlined below, first posted on the internet on July 9, 1996: (SEE ALSO, www.Inclusivism.org and/or Email: JG@Inclusivism.org).
Seeking solutions to the social disintegration and chaos caused by these colliding mega-forces on our social institutions is not new:
Sixty years ago we created a Welfare State to address these adverse effects, and from the 1860's on, we have implemented a series of anti-discrimination laws to counter the negative fall-out from these pervasive forces (greatly accelerated in this Century, and indeed with a compounding acceleration with each passing year). Accordingly, to accurately understand this movement we must look at it from the long-view since it has been underway since Marco Polo made his treck from Italy to China (i.e., citing the low [or high]unemployment in Memphis last week is meaningless in the larger issue being raised,here).
Indeed, most of our new legislation is to place a Band-Aid on the adverse effects of Globalization and Automation….and to post-pone as long as possible our need to implement systemic solutions, i.e., real, long-term social solutions. There is solid empirical evidence of both our social disentegration and the need for solutions for the whole new set of social problems caused by Globalization and Automation: In just the past quarter century we have seen greatly increased work place violence, school violence and sporatic mass shootings and the proliferation in the sale of home security devices, alone, and just the past decade stands as solid evidence to our social disintegration, as we further imprison ourselves daily. In the end it seems we humans would prefer a Police State to positive systemic solutions as we persist in using old, unworkable ideas to address 21st Century problems, ad nauseam!
For clarity, we must totally embrace the progress and social advancement afforded to us by the advent of Globalization and Automation….but it is mindless to ignore the negative social fall-out caused by same. There is no interest, here, in "Throwing the baby out with the bath water." ...Economic Inclusivism seeks only to find a viable, workable, solution (i.e., to make a mid-course correction)to counter the negative social fall-out caused by these colliding mega-forces on our social institutions. In truth, as we move into the next millennium, we have only one of two choices in our efforts to address this negative fall-out: To find work to be the legal right of every citizen, or to create a welfare system of some type. We have no other choices! Those who are unrealistic will argue that we have other choices, but in reality these are the only VIABLE choices, i.e., as all other choices (such as the current Republican agenda) will only lead TO further social disentegration. ...and further create a world unfit for human habitation! We have already learned that "welfare" doesn't work, and indeed, is inhumane....and thus finding work to be the legal right of every citizen is our ONLY viable choice. We also have no other choice than to seek new solutions to the compounding adverse effects of Globalization and Automation on our social institutions, as we advance into the new millennium.
Two papers are offered in support of Economic Inclusivism: A futuristic fable, OJ SAMPSON; and a synopsis of THE HARVARD BOYS CLUB, a true story about the dangerous right wing agenda in America (Please contact below for a copy). Inclusivism is singularly "solution-driven", without regard for ideology. There is no political agenda. Open debate is welcomed. The willful suppression of proposed solutions to our social problems, on the other hand, is seen as small, petty, self-destructive, tedious, and autocratic....
The web page following OJ SAMPSON, was first posted on the internet on July, 9, 1996, and has been the subject of many heated discussions. A bulletin board has recently been added for your comments. Most thinking persons agree that Capitalism is not without its flaws, which if not corrected will likely result in its demise. Inclusivism offers solutions to these short-comings, and is perhaps best understood as a more modern form of Capitalism. Inclusivism is very pro-business…. It is also a vital piece of the puzzle, in our search to find a sane Criminal Justice System in America….what we are doing now is antithetic to a sane and civilized country! This program was first published in the San Antonio Express-News on July 7, 1996. OJ SAMPSON was written after OJ Simpson was arrested, but long before the verdict in his trial…....(editorial license has been used to illuminate the issues)....copy pages three to ten to isolate a copy of OJ SAMPSON from the web page:
O.J. SAMPSON
A FUTURISTIC FABLE RE: A SANE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM
By: Jim Green
New Years Day, 2019
Word rippled like wildfire through the NFL grapevine, an elite group of past and present NFL football players…O.J. Sampson (or just OJ, to his friends and the nation) had gotten into a violent marital dispute with his wife Michelle, the evening before, and OJ was arrested. Their marital difficulties was no secret to this group….OJ stated that he would be making a public statement later that day.
How we had changed over the past thirty years…matured as a nation, could perhaps best describe this change…following the arrest and conviction of O.J. Simpson. It was ironic that Simpson had been arrested 30 years to the day earlier in a domestic dispute, on New Years Eve, 1989…but this flasing red sign was downplayed as a "family thing", and by our indifference to this earlier violence, on February 4, 1997, Simpson was convicted of murdering his wife Nicole, and Ron Goldman, on the evening of June 24, 1994, and Simpson was executed….
On the night of his execution, riots broke out in every major city in the United States….one-quarter of Washington D.C was burned to the ground. With the fires clearly visible from the steps of the White House, President Clinton and the leaders of the Senate and House promised immediate legislative action…with major legislative changes. President Clinton proclaimed “Systemic problems, call for systemic solutions”…and the following comprehensive legislative program, entitled THE ECONOMIC INCLUSIVISM ACT, was enacted into law within the next six months:
First, and long over due….the archaic terms “felony” and “misdemeanor” were replaced in the classification of crime, and thereafter all crime was re-classified as either “violent” or “non-violent”. The reason for this change was quite significant. The term felony was fixed in the public’s mind as “armed and dangerous”….and yet, over 70% of our offenders were in prison for non-violent crimes….albeit all were felons! This distortion and distraction in terms stood in the way of our finding real solutions, to the real problem: The violent offender! Indeed, in our hysteria to lock up felons, Americans were duped by corrupt politicians into building and maintaining the largest prison system in the world, (by 1990 we had passed every other nation on Earth in prison population....and by February 2000 we had a disgraceful two million Americans incarcerated....no other "civilized" country in the world even came close to our zeal for locking people up....we have 5% of the world's population and 25% of all prisoners on Earth, right here in the good old "free" USA!). Few politicians had the strength to speak up and tell Americans the truth: That this would actually exacerbate, rather than correct our crime problem in America, and that this would turn America into one of the most dangersous countries in the world in which to live!
Almost all crime is committed by male youths ages 15 to 25, or prison recidivists from this same group, who are doing life on the installment plan. We daily turned non-violent persons into violent, angry, career criminals, by our primitive and punitive prisons, and Criminal Justice System. The new legislation made every effort to keep persons convicted of non-violent crimes out of our prisons, and whenever possible out of our Criminal Justice System.
Accordingly, There was a much greater use of “Shock” Incarceration (a sentencing alternative I created in the 1960’s)currently known in Corrections as "Boot Camps"; greater use of probation, and a much greater use of “civil” probation, and the imposition of fines (both civil and criminal), in lieu of incarceration. Indeed, incarceration was considered for use only as a last resort, not the first, as had been common in the “dark ages”, in the quarter century preceding Simpson’s execution. The taxes saved from this wasteful, destructive path of trying to build our way out of our crime problem, by building more and more prisons, were moved to a “front end solution”, where it belonged: Educating our youth.
Further, the new legislation included the creation of Federal Regional Diagnostic and Treatment Centers for the diagnosis and treatment of the violent offender. Violent crime can be the result of anything from the act of a pathological killer to a brain tumor, but without the proper diagnosis and treatment, the public had no way of protecting itself. The primitive notion under the “Punishment Model” (the operative model for the American Criminal Justice System, prior to this time)…. equated “time" in prison, with just "punishment" for most crimes…but under this perverse and uneven system, an offender could spend more time prison for smoking pot, than murder, and more often than any sane person could tolerate, pathological killers were released because they had served their “time”….to kill innocent persons again!
The reality is that the "Punishment Model" is not "solution-driven"...indeed, solving our insidious crime problem is not even a consideration under this model...the stated purpose of the punishment model is to punish and "get even"...pretty much the same stated purpose as the criminal trapped in this model....when given the only two choices available under the Punishment Model: Did we want to solve our crime problem, OR "get even"....we inexplicably chose the latter....
Simple logic, and the wisdom of our greatest sages assert: Vengeance only begets vengeance . The end result of this archaic thinking: The most dangerous serial killer in America, at the time, was the State of Texas. The only correct evaluation of the “Punishment Model” is that the model, itself, is insane! Also, the new legislation provided for voluntary admissions to the Diagnostic and Treatment Centers , which was particularly helpful for youth subject to momentary feelings of violence, and in cases of domestic violence….thus these persons could seek treatment in the interest of PREVENTING crime, without the stigma of a criminal record.
Also, long overdue, was revision of our drug prevention legislation…we had wasted billions upon billions of taxpayer’s dollars on the promise that “interdiction” would solve our drug problem…and yet every knowledgeable study showed this was a “push-down, pop-up” problem, i.e., because drug sales are very lucrative, even if we did interdict and stop the flow of drugs from Columbia (for example)…..a new market would soon “pop-up” in Indonesia. And, thus interdiction was never more than a Band-Aid program…and did nothing to address the systemic changes that were necessary to correct this insidious problem. England had had particular success in treating drug addiction as a “medical”, rather than as a “criminal” problem (as addictions [of all types] rightly should be treated), and England introduced a program to provide the addictive drug to the addict, and thus was able to dry up drug-related crime. Also, since marijuana grows wild in every state, and has always been impossible to control, America took the lead advanced by Australia and legalized citizen’s "home grown"…and we also allowed the sale of marijuana in our liquor stores. By legalizing the sale of marijuana we Were better able to keep marijuana out of the hands of our Youth (the same as with alcohol), As any middle school child at the time would confirm...it was ten times easier to get marijuana for a party, than liquor, because of State control.
Perhaps the most revolutionary legislative change was the implementation of “Economic Inclusivism” –an economic solution to the adverse impact of “globalization” and “automation” on the "free" market system (on Capitalism). For too long we had seen the destructive harm to our society caused by "exclusion" based on race, gender, age, etc.; and hidden by the MYTH that Capitalism would provide productive employment for everyone in the system... and how this myth had contributed to our insidious crime problem. In spite of its detractors, Inclusivism provides real solutions, to real problems.
Economic Inclusivism is probably best understood as a more modern form of Capitalism, and contains the following elements: 1) Work/training became the legal (constitutional) right of every citizen; 2) Congress enacted a mutual insurance-type plan, owned and paid for by every worker in America (appx 8% of wages…less than they were currently paying for welfare)…with the funds from this insurance plan used to implement each citizen’s constitutional right to work; 3) Work was needed to provide child care for low income working families, to build a high speed rail system, to repairing the rotting infrastructure in America (the list is endless)….each year the working owners of the insurance plan would vote on the programs they would like to see implemented; 4)Training would be provided to meet the needs of an ever changing world, and thus was beneficial to both the public and private sectors; and, the overall benefit of Inclusivism was to level out the adverse effects of an expanding and contracting business cycle.; 5) Replacement of the Federal Income Tax system with an eclectic tax generating system, put more money in the hands of every worker, and thus stimulated the economy. It was a “win-win” solution, that by its construction, addressed 95% of our social ills…and thus brought about the urgent systemic changes needed to repair and heal our country which had been ravaged by riots and fires….
The comprehensive legislative changes cut our crime rate in half by the year 2003, stabilized the economy, preserved our constitutional freedoms embodied in the Bill of Rights (which were in extreme danger given our present course), and provided genuine legislative support for the family, and "family values"... Prior to this time much lip-service had been given to "family values" by the Republican Right...but legislative action which would have put real teeth in the notion of "family values", by this same group, was conspicously absent...
The wall of klieg lights and cameras almost blinded OJ Sampson as he stepped to the podium to face the press, and for the statement he had promised to the public earlier in the day……He spoke slowly, “I am today admitting myself into the Federal Regional Diagnostic and Treatment Center in Riverside”……
-30-
VITA AND DEDICATION
My background for writing this web page is based upon over 20 years in the American Criminal Justice System as a probation officer, chief probation officer, legislative advisor, drug counselor, and classification and parole officer with the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. I wrote the seminal paper on "Shock" Incarceration, a sentencing alternative which has been incorporated into the statutes in many jurisdictions, here, and in England and Germany. I also worked with the Menninger Foundation, as a chief probation officer, to help establish the first Court Psychiatric Clinic in the U.S.
This web page is dedicated to Christopher Green (1/20/70)--(1/22/76)
*****
UPDATE: The New Millennium....January 1, 2000
Press Release: Green Runs For Congress
Program Plan: Economic Inclusivism: A 21st Century Solution Web Page:www.Inclusivism.org Email: JG@Inclusivism.org
I am running for Congress because my opponent, Lamar Smith, District 21, Texas, is not offering any viable solutions for the problems we will face in the new millennium, and because he is indifferent to the problems of the vast majority of the voters in this District. Indeed, Mr. Smith represents only a tiny handful of special interests that paid to get him elected.
The new world market economy (Globalization), and Automation have created a whole new set of social problems, which have led to substantial social chaos and social disintegration. For instance, in just the past 25 years we have had an alarming increase in workplace violence, school violence and mass indiscriminate shootings; and the sale of home security devices have quadrupled, as we further imprison ourselves daily from the loss of personal safety.
Mr. Smith insists upon applying old, unworkable solutions to address this social chaos, which has had the effect of pouring gasoline on a fire to put it out…..It doesn't work, and has only added to our social disintegration. The bottom line is, these old ideas don't work with this new set of social problems.
For instance, Mr. Smith has set out to destroy the Bill Of Rights, with legislation intended to engender and perpetuate the fear of "foreigners", i.e., immigrants into the United States (ignoring that we are a land of immigrants....and ignoring that the Bill of Rights is what makes America great....and that America will get into trouble ONLY when we disregard the brilliance of this document....the Law of our Land!); and Smith, advocates building even more prisons, to hold our current economic system in place, when we already have the largest prison system in the world. We have 5% of the world's population, and 25% of the prison inmates on the entire planet. The net result of our present course: We have seriously undermined the freedoms protected by the Bill of Rights, and in the process turned America one of the most dangerous countries in the World in which to live. Our prisons daily turn non-violent persons into violent, career criminals… costing us over 40 billions annually, just for maintenance. This is money we should be spending educating our youth and thus intelligently and effectively addressing the problem of crime in America. Building more prisons will not solve our crime problem….it will makes it worse.
Page Two
As a means to effectively address the problems we will face in the next Century, I authored the following 7-point program, known as Economic Inclusivism (see www.inclusivism.org for detail):
We need to re-classify all crime in the future as "violent" or "non-violent", and discard the archaic terms "felony" and "misdemeanor".
We need a much greater use of "Shock" Incarceration, (a sentencing alternative I created in the 1960's), currently known as "Boot Camps"; and a much greater use of fines and probation (both civil and criminal), in lieu of incarceration. Our prisons should used only as a last resort, not first.
We need the creation of Federal Regional Diagnostic and Treatment Centers, for the diagnosis and treatment of the violent offender. Also, we need to allow for voluntary admissions to prevent juvenile and family violence. It is essential that we seek out "problem-solving" social solutions in the future, not "punishment" oriented solutions, which actually exacerbate crime.
We need to take the lead taken by England and Australia, in treating drug addiction as a "medical", rather than "criminal" problem, so that we can effectively keep drugs out of the hands of our youth. We have wasted billions on interdiction and youth drug abuse is actually increasing.
To address our insidious social welfare problem of "exclusion", the following proposed constitutional amendment, known as "The Inclusivism Act", must be passed by Congress: Work shall hereafter be the legal right of every citizen, and Congress shall make no law abridging a citizen's legal right to work and be a productive citizen.
To ensure enforcement of this legal right, Congress would create a privately owned, federally mandated, mutual insurance plan, owned by each person who works, which would provide Work/Training to any citizen who applies. Work to be funded by this insurance plan would include: Child care for low income working families, the building of an intra-continental high speed rail system, repairing the rotting infrastructure in America (the list of needed social benefits is endless). Annual dividends would be paid from unused funds, and programs voted for by the stockholders.
Page Three
With projected costs of 8% of income, the employee would be paying less even than they currently pay for welfare. Since this program of "Inclusion" would address 95% of our social ills (crime, welfare, drugs, etc.), the Federal Budget could be greatly reduced and our current Federal Income Tax would be replaced with a National Sales Tax, value-added tax, a National Lottery, or some combination of taxes other than our current Federal Income Tax.
In closing, I would only add that the tax plan advocated by Mr. Smith, is divisive and is intended, solely, to "Make the rich richer, and the poor poorer." While claiming to be the taxpayers friend, the Republican Right (which has taken over the Republican party) has wasted over 100 million of the taxpayers money on needless and endless political investigations over the past six years….money which should be paid by the RNC, and money which should have been spent feeding the hungry children in America. If Mr. Smith truly has the best interest of the taxpayers at heart he will introduce legislation calling for this 100 million to be paid by the RNC (Republican National Committee), and then offer an apology to the taxpayers of this District for having played a major part in ripping-off the honest and decent taxpayers in America.
Bio:
Green is a life-long Democrat, an older brother was an Assistant U.S. Attorney during President John F. Kennedy's Administration; and his cousin, Fred Brown, is a former Democratic National Committeeman. Green is retired, having worked most of his life as a probation officer and chief probation officer. In the 1960's green wrote the seminal paper on "Shock" Incarceration, a concept which has had a major impact on America's correctional system, as well as in England and Germany. Green served his country in the U.S. Navy, during the Korean War.
_________________________________________________ /S/ Jim Green, Candidate for U.S. Congress, District 21, Texas
*****
THE ORIGINAL WEB PAGE: ORIGIN OF THE WORD AND CONCEPT OF INCLUSIVISM
We are in the throes of enormous socio-economic change. With the advent of the new world market economy (Globalization), the proliferation of new technology (Automation), and the compounding effect of these mega-forces on our social institutions--the nature of human "work" has changed dramatically over the past 200 years--indeed work is disappearing--as downsizing has become common-place. Over the past 60 years our solution to our shifting and shrinking world has been to create a Welfare State. Almost everyone agrees today, however, that this interim step is no longer viable--and indeed, is inhumane. Inexplicably, some persons feel that our solution is to "go back" to an earlier time--and provincial wisdom is to leave the solution in the hands of fate and the whims of the "free market". The reality is that the "free market" has never been able to provide productive employment for everyone--in spite of the MYTH to the contrary. The mere existence of our Welfare State stands as solid evidence to the erroneous nature of this myth.
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