Head - Educational Opportunities

1. Increase funding to primary & secondary schools by:
   1. Corporate sponsorships
      1. businesses sponsor local schools in exchange for school buses to be painted with the logo of the business; all painting to be done by students in the district as part of art training
      2. businesses donate school equipment, furniture, computers, supplies, in exchange for logos and text mention in district and school materials to parents
   2. School district consolidation
      1. bring smaller school districts into one larger district that can be managed with fewer staff and less administration
      2. larger districts can better negotiate with local businesses for corporate sponsorships
   3. Educational Investment Stocks
      1. pay into federally-insured school investment fund in the student's name
      2. 50% goes to the child's school now
      3. the other 50% is invested in high-yield stocks designed to triple invested moneys over a 12 year period
      4. parents earn 150% of their total investment as a private scholarship for their kids
      5. after high school, students can use their federally-insured funds anytime they wish but only toward college, just like a scholarship
      6. parents choose amount to pay each month
      7. higher payments produce more college funds for students
      8. payments attached to social security deductions for automatic payment and portability when a parent changes jobs or is unemployed for a time
   4. No tax increase

   5. Equalize educational training by:
      1. Standardized funding per student
         1. set nationwide standard budget per student so all students receive equal materials and supplies
         2. all disctricts pay into national budget that is then paid out to schools based on number of students in each school
      2. Before and after-school aided study and daycare
         1. use funds created by sponsorships to add teaching and daycare programs in all schools so working families won't have to spend so much on private daycare
         2. schools are a perfect choice since the buildings are already paid for but are not being used for the entire day
         3. schools also already fit child-safety standards and are equipped with child-oriented supplies
         4. additional salaries paid by corporate sponsorships
      3. Standardized teacher's salaries
         1. set nationwide standard for teachers' salaries based on education, experience, and job performance
      4. No tax increase

      5. Improve marginalized kids by:
         1. Total family support groups
            1. hold once-a-month meetings where families of kids in any given class can get together to express concerns, put forth ideas, and get an overview of what their children are learning and why
            2. from this group, a teacher can set up one-on-one meetings with specific families as behavioral problems arise
            3. district counselor can sit in on meeting to help problem resolution
         2. Special interest mentor groups
            1. teachers with a specific interesting, i.e. science, language, etc., should get together once a week with kids from all grades and classes who show a strong interest in the same topic
            2. this special-interest group will study advanced topics in the subject area, giving kids extra growth potential and a relief from the boredom factor that happens with many students
            3. teachers in program receive bonus pay
            4. bonuses paid from Educational Investment Stocks
         3. Enroll kids in the Occupational Force program
            1. see "Hands - Number 2"
         4. No tax increase

            Hands - Occupational Opportunities

            1. Expand Job Corps federal work program:
               1. Make federally-funded program available to more young people
               2. Set up Job Corps tax-deductible donation program
                  1. corporations get tax break for hiring Job Corps graduates
                  2. Job Corps donations made tax deductible
                  3. Job Corps donation box included on all federal tax forms
               3. No tax increase

               4. Occupational Force:
                  1. Enroll 9th graders in an "Occupational Force" program that guarantees them a job after graduation.
                     1. program is optional
                     2. students can choose from a variety of job-oriented programs that will put them in a job of a specific nature upon graduation from high school or college
                     3. program is a contract between the community and the student
                     4. young people who drop out must pay a penalty that is deducted as an increase in their specific social security deduction
                     5. penalty fees are put back into managing the program
                  2. Participants must maintain a "C" average
                  3. Completion of high school guarantees wage at least $2.00 above minimum wage and no taxes for two years.
                  4. Completion of Bachelor's degree guarantees wage at least $4.00 above minimum wage and no taxes for two years
                  5. Curriculum molded to fit expected occupation
                  6. Jobs to be negotiated with private sector by state government
                     1. employers in program pay no taxes on each employee for two years
                        1. school districts who join the program are eligible for work to be done within the district by federal Job Corps participants
                     2. Participants pay back program through added Social Security deductions applied for two years after first two years of work
                     3. No tax increase

                  7. Step Ladder:
                     1. Temporary work-for-your-supper housing project
                     2. Homeless can work on government projects while taking crash courses in jobs skills and money management
                     3. Cities get cheap labor and get people off the streets
                     4. Project is self funding
                        1. Step Ladder project bids on city, county, and state work and cleanup projects
                        2. participants must work at least 20 hours a week
                        3. participants must train at least 20 hours a week
                        4. participants receive housing, training, two sets of decent clothes, meals, training certificate, references, and $500 in a checking account upon release
                     5. No tax increase

                     6. Equal Action:
                        1. Replaces Affirmative Action
                        2. Requires demographic equality in government projects
                           1. if given community has 30% Hispanics and 20% African Americans, then all government bids in that community must be given to at least 30% Hispanics and 20% African Americans
                        3. No tax increase

                           Heart - Community Action

                           1. Community Shield
                              1. Community volunteers posted at every public school to watch for trouble
                              2. Community volunteers posted in high-crime parks and other public places
                              3. Organized & directed by retired military & police officers
                              4. Coordinated with local law enforcement officials
                              5. Retired persons get tax break for participation
                              6. No tax increase

                              7. Community Mentoring
                                 1. Program to link retired community members with troubled youth
                                 2. Should include shut-ins and retirement homes
                                 3. Mentor cannot divulge nor interfere with young person's life
                                    1. mentor can only listen and give advice
                                    2. young person has an adult to talk to who will not judge nor openly condemn
                                    3. young person can ask for advice within the boundaries of confidentiality
                                    4. any mentor who divulges confidential information will be dropped from the program and charged severe fines or penalties
                                 4. Use mentoring as part of "youth parole" for non-violent juvenile offenders
                                 5. Child can obtain school credits for time in the mentoring program
                                 6. No tax increase

                                    Will - Political Will to Manage Resources

                                    1. Ignore or decriminalize crimes without unwilling participants:
                                       1. Ignore or legalize prostitution
                                          1. regulate and tax prostitutes for increased tax revenues
                                          2. keep pimping illegal
                                          3. use regulations to fight community health problems created by now-illegal prostitution
                                       2. Ignore or legalize marijuana use and possession
                                          1. regulate and tax marijuana use for increased tax revenues
                                          2. marijuana to be sold like alcohol, in regulated outlets such as liquor stores
                                          3. keep non-regulated sales illegal
                                          4. use regulations to fight community health problems created by now-illegal sales laced with unhealthy substances
                                       3. Allows more law enforcement personal and budgets to be used on crimes with unwilling victims
                                       4. No tax increase

                                       5. Plant recruited college-age "students" as undercover agents in secondary schools
                                          1. Use teenage-looking agents to track down illegal drug dealers in high schools and junior high schools
                                          2. Provide agents with "traceable cash" for tracking local school drug avenues
                                          3. No tax increase

                                          4. Use "traceable cash"
                                             1. Electronically traceable
                                             2. Follow traced money to drug suppliers
                                             3. Bust ring of neighborhood suppliers
                                             4. Bust money laundering operations
                                             5. Funded by savings created through Item 1
                                             6. No tax increase

                                             7. Create national 800 # for turning in neighborhood drug dealers
                                                1. Call automatically traced to reduce abuse
                                                2. Will not accept calls from anonymous sources - pay phones, etc.
                                                3. Will protect name & address of caller
                                                4. Voice recorded for verification in the case of abuse
                                                5. Abuse of service will result in criminal prosecution - much like false fire alarms
                                                6. Funded by savings created through Item 1
                                                7. No tax increase

                                                8. Create national 800# for turning in gang members
                                                   1. Call automatically traced to reduce abuse
                                                   2. Will not accept calls from anonymous sources - pay phones, etc.
                                                   3. Will protect name & address of caller
                                                   4. Voice recorded for verification in the case of abuse
                                                   5. Abuse of service will result in criminal prosecution - much like false fire alarms
                                                   6. Funded by savings created through Item 1
                                                   7. No tax increase

                                                   8. Create Gang Family Relocation system for protection of gang members' families
                                                      1. Gang member can call and get immediately picked up
                                                      2. Member is placed under an assumed name in the step ladder program
                                                      3. Call automatically traced to reduce abuse
                                                      4. Will not accept calls from anonymous sources - pay phones, etc.
                                                      5. Will protect name & address of caller
                                                      6. Voice recorded for verification in the case of abuse
                                                      7. Abuse of service will result in criminal prosecution - much like false fire alarms
                                                      8. Funded by savings created through Item 1
                                                      9. No tax increase

                                                      10. Create AlertNet, where people can easily phone in known gang activity
                                                          1. Call automatically traced to reduce abuse
                                                          2. Will not accept calls from anonymous sources - pay phones, etc.
                                                          3. Will protect name & address of caller
                                                          4. Voice recorded for verification in the case of abuse
                                                          5. Abuse of service will result in criminal prosecution - much like false fire alarms
                                                          6. Funded by savings created through Item 1
                                                          7. No tax increase

                                                          8. Use Army & Corps of Engineers to rebuild worn-down neighborhoods and gang hang outs
                                                             1. Already using them to rebuild war-torn areas outside the U.S.
                                                             2. Declare neighborhoods destroyed by crime and poverty "War On Crime Reconstruction Areas"
                                                             3. Rebuild such areas to provide infrastructure for increased business opportunities and better housing
                                                             4. Unoccupied buildings to be refurbished and sold at auction to local or national businesses
                                                             5. Occupied buildings to be refurbished to minimum standards with no cost
                                                             6. Occupied building owners can request additional improvements at low cost on a sliding scale depending on requested improvements and size of building
                                                             7. Refurbished areas patrolled by Army soldiers on loan to local police departments
                                                             8. On-loan soldiers wear special police uniforms for identification without looking like the area is under military rule
                                                             9. Use existing military budget to fund projects
                                                                1. trim excess money wasted on military overspending for supplies, i.e. $500 hammers, etc.
                                                                2. withhold payment to government contractors who do not deliver on time
                                                                3. military personal already being paid to stand by in case they are needed to protect U.S. interests
                                                                4. inner-city crime is a war against U.S. interests and should be fought with existing military
                                                             10. No tax increase

                                                             11. Create reasonable gun policies
                                                                 1. Make it legal to carry concealed weapons
                                                                    1. must register with police
                                                                    2. must register when carrying guns across state lines
                                                                    3. must pass training course
                                                                    4. local areas with laws allowing concealed weapons have not seen increase in shootings by carriers of these weapons.
                                                                    5. allows average citizen to better protect themselves from carriers of illegal guns who would rob or abuse these citizens
                                                                 2. Ban all military-style weapons for use by civilians
                                                                    1. weapons of mass killing not needed for protection or hunting
                                                                    2. makes this type of weapon harder to get by gangs and other criminals as well as by psychopaths and the mentally unstable
                                                                 3. Keeps gun owners happy while curbing assault-style weapons at the same time
                                                                 4. No tax increase

                                                                 5. Lower drinking age to 17 with a permit
                                                                    1. Establish the 50/50 program
                                                                       1. must pay $50 to enter program
                                                                       2. must work 50 hours in alcohol treatment center and ride with EMT's
                                                                       3. receive drinking permit upon graduation from program
                                                                       4. use revenues to pay for administration and for alcohol treatment programs
                                                                    2. Current laws do not deter under-aged drinking by those who want to drink
                                                                    3. Gives communities greater control of teenage drinking by keeping it out in the open
                                                                       1. teenage drinkers won't have to hide from adults, a current situation that removes parents from helping their teens in potentially life-threatening situations
                                                                       2. allows parents to guide young drinkers rather than worry that their teens are out drinking without their knowledge
                                                                    4. Provides avenue to train young drinkers in the dangers of alcohol
                                                                    5. We ask teens to behave in responsible manner; now we should give them greater responsibility for their bodies
                                                                    6. No tax increase

                                                                    7. Change prisons from punishment to rehabilitation
                                                                       1. Mandatory training & education with all sentences
                                                                          1. makes ex-cons better equipped to obtain real jobs after leaving prison
                                                                          2. gives ex-cons fewer reasons to return to crime as a source of income
                                                                       2. Use inmate teachers
                                                                          1. inmate-teachers receive reduced sentences after completing in-depth teacher training
                                                                          2. inmate-teachers selected on basis of good behavior and by passing oral and written examinations to establish ability
                                                                       3. Segregate prisons into like-crime wards
                                                                          1. prevents convicts from "learning" how to perpetrate other types of crimes
                                                                          2. minimizes ability of "in-house" gangs from recruiting new members while in prison
                                                                       4. Mandatory "jobs" done with wages going to victims or victims' families
                                                                          1. simple "at home" type jobs, such as envelope stuffing, to be done by inmates in their cells, with the proceeds to be paid to those they caused to suffer with their crimes
                                                                          2. businesses encouraged to participate by paying less than minimum wage to have these jobs done
                                                                          3. after restitution is paid, inmate has earnings placed in a bank account to be used by inmate upon release
                                                                          4. if prisoner is serving life sentence, extra proceeds are placed in general account to be used for training inmate teachers
                                                                          5. inmates refusing to work receive automatic increased sentences or loss of privileges, including solitary confinement for continued refusal to work
                                                                       5. No parole for lifers - with all lifers separated from other criminals
                                                                          1. anyone guilty of a crime that gets a life sentence should not be put back on the streets
                                                                          2. such criminals should be segregated into their own ward so they cannot "teach" others their criminal behavior
                                                                       6. Expand use of electronic monitoring for non-violent criminals
                                                                          1. place more non-violent criminals in "house arrest" situations, with electronic Global Positioning Systems that allow computers to track their movements and alert authorities if they violate their house arrest
                                                                          2. violators of house arrest given automatic life sentence
                                                                          3. leaves more room in prisons for violent offenders
                                                                          4. lowers prison operating costs
                                                                          5. house-arrest prisoners must participate in "mandatory jobs" program as outlined above
                                                                          6. house-arrest prisoners who fail to work will automatically be sent to prison with an increased sentence
                                                                       7. Use prisoners to build new prisons
                                                                          1. used as part of "mandatory jobs" program
                                                                          2. prisoners provide cheap labor to lower cost of new prisons
                                                                       8. Create boot camp system for those in last year of sentence
                                                                          1. special ward for last-year prisoners
                                                                          2. run like military boot camp
                                                                          3. emphasis on teaching discipline rather than punishment
                                                                          4. boot camps to be run by retired military officers who receive a 20% increase in their pension payments for their services
                                                                          5. increased salaries paid for by "mandatory jobs" program
                                                                       9. Provide "step ladder" program for all released prisoners
                                                                          1. run the same as described above
                                                                       10. Use tax incentives to encourage businesses to hire ex-cons
                                                                           1. companies who hire ex-cons pay no taxes on them for one year
                                                                           2. ex-cons must behave by strict behavior guidelines as a form of "occupational parole"
                                                                           3. employers may report violations of behavior guidelines at any time
                                                                           4. ex-cons who violate the behavior guidelines will receive automatic two-year prison house-arrest sentence
                                                                       11. No tax increase