People's Lobby Education Foundation research.
In 2009 Ralph Nader published his book, Only The Super Rich Can Save Us.
Warren Buffett and Bill Gates must have sped read what Ralph refers to as:
"... not a novel. Nor is it nonfiction. In the literary world, it might be described as "a practical utopia." I call it a fictional vision that could become a new reality. Some known and not-well-known people appear in fictional roles.
Warren clearly appears in one of those "new reality" roles, which would play devilishly well in a movie.
In 2010 Warren and Bill launched what became known as the "Giving Pledge," a campaign to encourage the world's wealthiest to commit most of their wealth to philanthropic causes, which begins happening in the book in a Nader-Raiderisk manner.
According to the Huffington Post, by April 2012 "81 billionaires committed to giving at least half of their fortunes to charity," and by January 2015, 47 more signed. In May of 2015 ABC News said 135 had signed the "Giving Pledge."
About 10 years ago People's Lobby's (PLI) offered it's non-traditional funding mechanisms (NTFM) in the American World Service Corps (AWSC) Congressional Proposal as an minimally incremental means of implementing the "Giving Pledge," while inspiring the visionary super-rich to invest in an escrowed AWSC account that fields today's needed 21st century army. Using the Forbes 400 alone as the sole NTFM, we began calling it the "Less Than 2% Solution."
Recent decades of flow-up and trickle-down wealth growth has led us to now call it the "1% Forbes Solution," as charted above where an annual 1.15% Forbes 400 investment funds one million strong serving peacefully under an AWSC banner.
The American World Service Corps (AWSC) Congressional Proposal would establish a small umbrella office that would send "more" inspired Americans to already existing do-good organizations. It would enhance our and the world's "character" by fielding 21,000,000 Americans over a generation of 27 years doing a year or two of full-time national service in such beefed-up organizations as: Peace Corps, AmeriCorps, Habitat, Doctors Without Borders, Head Start, Red Cross, International Rescue Committee, Oxfam, Mercy Corps, State Conservation Corps, Heifer, Mercy Ships, FINCA, homeless centers, effective local non-profits, in-need schools, homes for the aged, physical therapy departments of hospitals, etc.,
Imagine how enhanced the "character" of Americans and world citizens could become if a million Americans a year were peacefully serving country and world. During a time when drought and storms grow fiercer and weirder, flood levels rise, and poverty and desperation become more and more obvious to those of us more blessed, isn't it time Americans stepped beyond pledges of allegiances and text messages and initiated actions that built character, enhanced friendship, and seeded development worldwide?
Isn't it time our 1.4 million active military volunteers had help from another million volunteers serving nation and world? Isn't it time significantly more Americans lived up to JFK's clarion call:
And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you -- ask what you can do for your country.
To finance a gritty AmeriCorps / sandal-clad Peace Corps volunteer for a year requires a $16,000 - $47,000 investment. Consequently, the cost of fielding 21 million full-time working American volunteers doing good for a generation is about $711 billion.
During the unnecessary Iraq War, whose long term ancillary cost is approaching $7 TRILLION, the annual cost of sending a single Star Trek clad warrior into harm's way was $1,000,000. If our bravest must continue doing more and more battle that bloody cost will continue bleeding higher.
If you could invest 700 BILLION in full-time working Americans to avoid just one lying-in-the-bushes $7 TRILLION war, would it be a wise investment?
Shouldn't even the squeamish Forbes 400 non-signers of the Givers Pledge be able and willing to dedicate 1.15% of their wealth annually for the ensuing 27 years to an escrowed account, which would only be used to fund the service of 21,000,000 working Americans whose developmental work reduces the likelihood of war?
Only a little over 7% of the 1800 worldwide billionaires have signed the "Givers Pledge." If the Forbes 400 committed to an average donation of 1.15% of their wealth, they might very well start a commitment of giving to peaceful development oriented national service by the other 1400 billionaires. Could such super-rich philanthropy redirect the warfare mentality into which so much of the world is falling?
Is it too much to ask of 22% of the world's billionaires that they annually set aside an additional 1.15% of their wealth into an escrowed AWSC National Service Account to address world needs?
In the process, could those billionaires inspire the other 78% of the world's billionaires to escrow a minuscule amount of their wealth to build national service corps around the world? Isn't it time the world's luckiest people implement another JFK inaugural proposal?
My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.
Can the Super Rich save us? Will they spread around some of their bodacious gains before their remains blow away?
And no matter what kind of God or religion you believe, do not JFK's Inaugural closing words ring true?
Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own.
If you are connected to some of the 1800 people mentioned here, or the corporations, celebrities, athletes, etc., outlined in our NTFM for the AWSC, give them this short power point overview and lobby them to contact members of the National Service Congressional Caucus as well as their representatives to introduce the AWSC National Service Proposal and implement a 21st Century Marshall Plan. If not connected, lobby them yourself. Everything about the AWSC does good -- cost effectively.
Remind the moneyed movers and shakers that helping implement an AWSC gives one a high grade on a heavenly required report card. In short, it helps a rich camel pass through the eye of a stingy needle, and only costs an earthly pittance for blessed billionaires.
In 2014 Popeye came into $1.5 billion, allowing him to grab the 400th spot on the Forbes 400, where just average wealth grew to $5.7 billion. Concerned about his eternal future he asked Olive, "Should we donate 1.15% of our recently acquired $1.5 billion to that AWSC escrowed account?"
Any advice for Popeye, Olive and their lobbyists free gang?