California Free Press

Off the Top of My Head

Peace is Not Just the Absense of War

by John Lawrence

War is inevitable as long as the various parties do everything to build up their war machines and do nothing to undertake peace initiatives even when the parties are not actually at war. Many think that if there is no war nothing must be done to prevent the next war except perhaps building up their war machine. When there is no active war, that's the best time for preventing the next likely war. There was no reason for World War I other than the fact that the nations involved had built up their war machines in "peace time" and were spoiling for war. Nietzsche said, "A good war hallows any cause. War and courage have accomplished more great things than love of the neighbor." Really? Then perpetual war followed perhaps by short intervals of the absense of war also known as "peace" is the fate of the human race until the human race is extinguished in one great cataclysm. But there is more to peace than just the absense of war. Peace must be built one step at a time just like any edifice. Every nation should have a Department of Peace to counterbalance the ubiquitous Departments of War. If peace is systematically built, war may be preventable. If it is not, the Department of War will always stay ready to conduct war if all else fails. To advocate for peace is not the same as to advocate for disarmament. Realistically, a peaceful neighbor can always be attacked by a stronger unscrupulous neighbor. In fact that is what always has occurred throughout history. This led to the "balance of power" situation in Europe before World War I. It was believed that this was the only way to prevent war, that is, if each neighboring nation was equally matched in their military capabilities. So putting resources into a Department of Peace does not mean not putting resources into a Department of War. In fact they both should be concurrently developed just in case. One is a deterrent. The other is a preventative.

I would advocate a different approach to the peace process than has been pursued so far.. Each nation should put as much human and financial capital into a Department of Peace as they do into a Department of War. So what would a Department of Peace actually do? First of all, eliminate poverty in the world. When everyone has at least a minimally adequate living standard, it is less likely that they will organize for war. Secondly, the existential fact of climate change will create war if it is not solved. In fact it is an existential threat to all life on earth that will make World War III seem trivial in comparison. The ones that will suffer the most are the poor nations and the poor in the rich nations. A Department of Peace needs to be spending a lot both in human and financial capital on this problem. Third, a Department of Peace needs to build infrastructure both to adapt to global warming and to bring poorer nations up to speed. A good place to start is to have the goal of clean water and an adequate sewage system for all of the world's inhabitants. China has taken the lead on this with its Belt and Road initiative building infrastructure throughout the world. Fourth, all nations and all leaders of nations should be shown respect. When one nation's leaders describe another nation's leaders as evil or talk about their countries as "evil empires," this alienates them. Calling a nation's leader a pariah actually turns them into one. Alienation follows disrespect. Friendship entails respect and consideration for all nations even ones with different political and economic institutions. Diplomacy should be increased a thousand fold or more. Person to person exchange groups should be encouraged.

Inequality leads to war. Everyone on planet earth deserves to have an adequate amount of material possessions including good health care, education, food and housing. Those who have inadequate possessions or services or at least a minimal amount of those material things and services compared to others will always want to take from those who have all those things. Rich nations need to help poor nations get richer or else face the consequence of always having to defend what they've got from those who have little or nothing. Many wars have been fought over territory and material possessions. Also many wars have been fought over religion. Education needs to pave the way for people to understand that a person's belief system is up to that person and need not be a threat to another's belief system. The religious wars in Europe between Catholicism and Protestantism went on for hundreds of years proved nothing. The same could be said for the wars between Islam and Christianity or between Hindus and Muslims. The secularization of the world's societies is necessary at least to the point that someone's religion is nobody else's business. The separation of church and state was one of the hallmarks of the US Constitution that has been very successful.

To sum up planet earth will never attain world peace unless that becomes a goal in such a way that peace is not just defined as the absense of war. Like the development of all good things peace must be worked at and for. An effort must be put into it. Resources must be devoted to it. Else the outcome will be the same as the outcome of any venture for which nothing much was done about it. The natural outcome for a world not working every day for peace and not devoting adequate resources towards it will be war. The Law of Entropy will prevail. Everything will disintegrate unless energy is put into the system.

Off the Top of My Head

A Modest Proposal for the Homeless

by John Lawrence

"A job is about a lot more than a paycheck. It's about dignity. It's about respect. It's about being able to look your kid in the eye and say everything will be okay. Too many people today can't do that — and it's got to change." So said Joe Biden and I agree. I have made suggestions about the homeless situation before. I'm all in favor of providing shelters, campsites, case managers, homeless outreach, services and public housing. But what none of the solutions offered by others fail to do is to offer the homeless the dignity of a job. There are attempts to hook them up with a job in the private sector, but there are a great many obstacles in the way of that. For instance, a permanent address, a prior work history, lack of skills, lack of a work history etc. So what I would recommend is that the public sector provide the jobs for those who can't connect with a job in the private sector much like the jobs that were provided during the Great Depression in the Civilian Conservation Corps. There are many jobs that the private sector doesn't provide, and there are some jobs that are very necessary but there is no money in it for the private sector. For instance - planting trees. Planting trees is one thing that can be done to ameliorate global warming. It's one thing that anyone can do regardless of prior experience or job skills. It is one thing that many volunteers are actually doing.

I contend that a homeless person who has not been a functional member of the economy and who is virtually unemployable by the private sector could become a functional member of the economy and society again if the work was organized for them. Having a job, just as Joe Biden said, would provide a sense of dignity and meaning to a homeless person's life while contributing vital, necessary work for society. While I'm in favor of providing housing and services for the homeless, my contention is that they would be better off also contributing to society in some way and planting trees or providing other essential but neglected services would be a way to do so. They could also expect a modest paycheck, and it would give them something meaningful to do. Too many homeless people just sit on their butts all day having no meaningful work of any kind and not contributing to society in any way. Even convicts are given training and offered the possibility of a job fighting fires for which they could become full time employees when they have served their time.

There is much work that the private sector does not deem profitable enough to engage in, but, however, would benefit society. Beautifying parks, streets, sidewalks and freeways by planting flowers, shrubs, trees, not to mention picking up trash that litters sidewalks and freeways. Joe Biden said, "It's about dignity. It's about respect." It's also about a sense of accomplishment. It's about doing something good for the planet. It's about filling in the cracks that the private sector isn't willing to do. It's about physical exercise which is essential to physical and mental health. It's about being able to look in the mirror and saying to yourself that you've been a contributor to society and not just a receiver of benefits.

Perfect Opportunity for the Homeless: The American Climate Corps!!!!

Tackling California’s Budget Crisis: Raise Taxes, Cut Programs, or Form a Bank?

Posted on May 8, 2024 by Ellen Brown, from Web of Debt blog

In 2022, the state of California celebrated a record budget surplus of $97.5 billion. Two years later, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office, this surplus has plummeted to a record budget deficit of $73 billion. Balancing the budget will be challenging. Unlike the federal government, the state cannot just drive up debt and roll it over year after year. The California Balanced Budget Act, passed in 2004, requires the state legislature to pass a balanced budget every year. 

The usual solutions are to cut programs or raise taxes, but both approaches are facing an uphill battle. Raising taxes would require a two-thirds vote of the legislature, which would be very challenging, and worthy public programs are in danger of getting axed, including homelessness prevention and funding for low-income housing. 

A third possibility might be to increase the income tax base and state income by stimulating the economy with a state-owned depository bank. The state-owned Bank of North Dakota, which has raised record profits for its state, is a stellar example. In a review of states with the healthiest budgets based on data from the PEW Charitable Trusts, U.S. News & World Report puts North Dakota at No. 1 in Budget Balancing and #1 in Short-term Fiscal Stability.    

California has an Infrastructure and Development Bank, which is already capitalized and has an established track record of prudent and productive lending, but it is not a depository bank and its reach is small. Transforming it into a depository bank would be fairly uncomplicated and could substantially increase its reach. 

But first a look at what happened to the state’s copious revenues.

Saga of a Budget Crisis

California’s record surplus was largely due to tax windfalls and to $43.5 billion received in American Rescue Plan money during the COVID crisis. Anticipating that these inflows would continue, the governor and legislature enacted a record budget for 2024-25 of nearly $300 billion, the largest of any state. Much of the surplus was committed to expanding an array of social and educational services, including extending universal health care coverage to undocumented immigrants. When taxes came in, the tally showed a revenue shortfall of $26 billion.  

Tech industry woes were a major contributor. The top 1% of earners pay nearly half of California’s  income taxes, and 20% of its GDP comes from the tech industry. The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, which financed startups and attracted venture capital, speeded the sector’s decline. Massive Silicon Valley layoffs occurred and tech stock lost value, cutting capital gains taxes. And there has been a notable exodus from the state not just among the ultra-wealthy but by businesses, due to the combination of high taxes, stringent regulations, and elevated costs for labor, utilities, and energy.  

Another contributor to the budget deficit were huge payouts for unemployment benefits, which skyrocketed during the COVID lockdown and business shutdowns. The state’s unemployment fund was exhausted, requiring a loan from the federal government. Twenty-one billion dollars remains to be repaid, and the interest rate on the debt has gone up. To meet the unemployment burden, California legislators are considering quintupling unemployment taxes and nearly doubling benefits, but the result could be more layoffs and more businesses leaving the state.

Plagued by Homelessness and Unemployment

Meanwhile, the wealth divide in California is enormous, with the highest unemployment rate and homeless rate in the country. This is despite $24 billion being spent on the unhoused over the last five years. Thirty percent of the nation’s homeless live in California, and nearly nine million Californians are on the brink of being homeless. Housing is too expensive for low-wage earners and there is a lack of available low-cost housing. But well-meaning legislation to help low-wage earners has had unintended consequences. 

As of April 1, the minimum wage for fast food restaurant workers was raised by 25% to $20 an hour triggered by a strike by their union. But the move has negatively impacted many of the workers. Fast food restaurant owners operate on thin profit margins; and to cover these new costs, they have had to reduce workers’ hours, raise customer prices, engage in massive worker layoffs, move out of state, or close their businesses altogether. Almost 10,000 fast food jobs have been lost in California just since the $20 minimum wage law was signed. 

As a result of these and other efforts to help low-wage earners, many vulnerable workers are suddenly finding or will find themselves out of a job.