The Problem:

Violence users owe victims of violence $397 billion per year in the USA, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). Health insurance administrators have collected $399 billion per year in the USA, according to Harvard and Public Citizen research. However, they did not use it to restore uncompensated victims of violence. The Internal Revenue Service also collected $400 billion per year in the USA. However, this restitution was also kept from victims of violence. It was spent on preparation for eventual preemptive or coerced war. It was taken from victims of violence. It was used to create more victims of violence.

One Solution: Killing, incarceration or other violence shall not result in financial gain. It shall result only in the restoration of victims of violence. That shall immediately apply to people, and eventually animals. All lawful enterprise that uses killing, violence, coercion or force shall be nonprofit. That shall eventually also apply to endangered species of plants and scarce mineral resources. All revenue derived in part or whole from it shall amount to restitution. It shall be submitted to uncompensated victims of violence.

Thus, spoils of war, even after being used as capital, shall be confiscated by authorities. They shall be used as a means of restoring the peace. They shall be returned to injured victims of violence for the restoration of the peace economy.

Therefore, all prison revenue shall be returned to victims of crime. Prison labor revenue, even if used as capital, shall be confiscated by authorities. It shall be designated restitution for crime. It shall be repaid to victims in the amounts indicated by BJS. Prisons shall be run by the people (government) or another nonprofit organization.

The $400 billion, or so, annually misappropriated from victims of violence shall not be spent on war. It shall no longer be spent on hospital administration. It shall be repaid to victims of violence in the amounts indicated by the BJS. It shall thus be used for healing, for restoration of justice, for prevention of further violence, and, so, for conservation of health.

The funds shall compensate victims of violence for all losses indicated by the BJS. Thus, tens of millions of injured victims of violence may be restored to wholeness. These experienced Americans will then restore the peace economy. That creates millions of new jobs in the peaceful sectors of the economy.

This legislation helps restore millions of innocent lives each year. It breaks the cycle of victimization and unemployment. It breaks the cycle of destruction and healing. It reinstates conservation of health.

Initiative:

Any and every health care plan shall cover injury prevention. It shall cover all legal expenses of violence prevention. It shall cover all costs associated with prosecuting violent offenses. It shall cover all attorney costs for prosecuting stalkers and violent offenders. It shall cover the prevention of posttraumatic stress disorder. It shall cover medically prescribed restoration and social support. It shall cover all expenses related to restoring victims of violence to wholeness. It shall cover one legal check-up per year to assess the risk of injury to and by the patient. Anyone performing these activities shall be compensated at the rate set for the local District Attorney.

Violence users shall provide all funding for injury prevention coverage for all Americans. Interpersonal violence shall no longer cost victims $400 billion per year. The peaceful shall not be burdened with the consequences of violence. Violence users shall cover all costs through a tax on products containing a substantial amount of unredeemed violence. This tax shall equal the purchase price of the product. So, promoting violence becomes twice as expensive. Government at all levels shall deter the use of violence. We shall remove the profit motive from the use of violence by implementing the following legislation.

Heal the USA: Balance federal, state and local budgets through restitution using a tax on violence.

"Injured people start dying at the time of injury." - The World Health Organization The use of violence causes injury. It commences death. It is incomplete murder. So, the tax on violence revenue shall be greater than the tax on alcohol or tobacco use.

Anyone who uses violence needs to restore the victim. Until restitution is complete, the burden compounds.

This legislation returns violence revenue to those from whom it was stolen. These tens of millions of peaceful Americans will then restore the economy. That creates many millions of new jobs in the peaceful sectors of the economy.

You can predict aggressive behavior based upon three things. One is exposure to media violence. The second is identification with aggressive TV characters. The third is perceived realism of TV violence. - Huesmann et al, Research Center for Group Dynamics, Institute for Social Research, Ann Arbor, MI 48106 USA

DEFINITIONS:

Violence users include violence producers, providers, pushers, addicts and dabblers. Most violence producers join with violence providers and violence pushers. They sell a violent product or violent service. They set four poor examples.

1. They are offenders. First, they lie to you. Some depict violence without punishment. Truth is, violence always carries a price. Some lie, saying that people deserve violence. People deserve education, not violence. Even rapists do not deserve to be raped. There is usually a better way to educate them. Another lie is that violence confers power. Truth is, the power to destroy is futile. The power to create is useful. Another lie is that violence is the only way to get justice. Violence only causes further injustice. Justice happens through restoration. Some lie, saying that violence is part of relationships. Violence destroys healthy relationships. Another lie is that violence use is normal. Violence use is only normal for predatory animals and molding inanimate objects. Normal people do not use violence against people.

Violence pushers deceive vulnerable viewers. Even a one-time exposure coerces the vulnerable. This coercion causes psychological damage. So, it directly harms some viewers. Then, the coerced spread the lies to others. So, some people think violence use is normal. They think violence does not require punishment. They act on that belief, and harm people.

Violence pushers try to influence government officials. They push the use of violence rather than diplomacy. They say it is okay to oppress people. They push the use of violent weapons. They use sales tactics. They exploit officials who fall for their advertising.

Also, the violence producers take your money to feed you those lies. That harms the finances of the vulnerable. They call you a fool, that way.

Finally, violence pushers discourage peaceful justice. They encourage violent revenge. They tell you you can't get peaceful justice. So, they create hopelessness, despair and depression.

2. They train offenders. Some actors portray violence. They are using violence to make money. They go through the motions of violence. So, they are training themselves to be violent.

If they are professionals, they can control themselves. However, they expose the audience to the training. Viewers see how violence is used. So, viewers see how to use violence.

Repeated exposure encourages vulnerable viewers to try violence. It programs the viewer's mind. That way, many viewers accept violence as an option.

Violence pushers depict a situation that contains tension. Then, they display how actors use violence to get relief. Then, some present the viewer with a tense situation. This is a set up. They may use music, pictures and words to build the tension. Some viewers try violence to get relief.

Some violence pushers show violence as the only means of justice. They set the audience up for desperate action.

Violence pushers inject violence into normal relationships. Vulnerable viewers learn to associate violence with relationships. Some think it is normal to use violence in relationships. That increases the risk of interpersonal violence. It may result in domestic violence. That breaks up the family unit.

3. They try to profit from violence. They display that people can profit from putting violence into the world. Some users take their turn. They try to profit from attacking innocent people. They use violence to get what they want. They believe they will not have to pay. Then, they learn that they do have to pay. Then, they sue the violence producers. They lose.

Carnivorous animals need violence to sustain them. No other creature needs to use violence against people or animals. Genetically, humans are not carnivores. We have genes that manufacture cholesterol. So, we have no need for animal products. Humans die from consuming only animal products. Humans can live on plants alone.

Violence use is oppressive and destructive. It wastes resources. It leaves a mess for society to clean up.

4. They enable addicts to remain sick. They set the example that it is okay to enable addicts. Regular use of violence promotes addiction to violence. Society allows violence producers to sell violence products. Society allows violence addicts and the vulnerable to buy as much as they want.

Violence users need to pay the consequences. They need to make reparations. They need to educate the addicts they enable. They need to restore the victims of those addicts. They need to repay the ultimate victims of their profiteering.

Violence producers bring violence into the world. They may produce violent movies/games/books/songs/words/sounds/media/procedures or provide the means of delivering violent services. They may lace violence products with morals. First, they attract the violence addict using violent scenes. Then, they provide enough violence to stimulate the addictive process. After that, they insert a message of morality. Those of us watching might see some redeeming value. However, violence addicts are incapable of perceiving the message. Their stimulated hormones are louder than the message. The violence producer can argue that their product has redeeming value. A violence addict in recovery can tell if the redemption is effective.

Violence providers deliver violence or violent services.

Violence pushers advertise violence to potential users.

A violence product:

1. contains any trace of violence, without redeeming value; Example: cops and robbers portrayed as a game. Or,

2. depicts violence without punishment; Example: virtual child pornography.

An anti-violence product contains redeeming value; Example: self-defense video.

Redeeming value requires:

1. depiction of the pain, punishment, penance or other adverse effect of the use of violence;

2. a constant message that the violence is in error, unethical, inappropriate, criminal or harmful; and,

3. emphasis on the immorality, unsuitability, crime, harm and error of the violence;

Emphasis means most of the content (most of the visual plus most of the auditory content, if applicable).

Violence means invasive force or coercion.

Violence addiction is the frequent desire to view, listen to, feel, or commit violence. The hormones are imbalanced, blocking safe functioning.

The litmus test: Does the product or service support or condemn the use of violence? Does it promote intoxication or sobriety in the user? Most commodities are clear on the issue of violence. Those that aren't may litigate.

ELEMENTS OF THE LEGISLATION

WHAT:

Local and municipal codes: Violence products shall be taxed at a rate of 100%. Many movies, games and videos are rated for violence content. All of these ticket sales and product sales/rentals are subject to this tax (the Tax). Violence providers may still generate income. They may apply for grants, awards and other funding. Thus, they give the funding agent plenty of time to consider alternatives.

State law, statute: Every violence product for sale to a consumer shall be subject to the Tax. The Tax collected each year must cover violence victim losses. The Tax may be increased to cover violence victim losses. The Tax does not include the usual sales tax.

Federal law, code: The violence user must continue to pay FICA, disability and other taxes.

Funding organizations may no longer use coercion to channel funds into the violence-unemployment cycle. Itemized deductions made to violence providers do not apply to reduce taxation. So, one cannot justify producing violence by controlling the purse that doles out charity.

WHEN: Local and municipal codes: Many movies, games and videos are rated for violence content. That rating requires the box office or store clerk to handle that violence product with care. During such a process, the number of violence rated items consumed is inventoried. The box office or store is subject to inspection or audit. At such times, the inspector calculates the amount of Tax expected.

State law, code or statute: (demand side economics; handled by the local revenue office or the SFTB). Upon sale of each violence product, the consumer (or representative) shall pay the Tax. The Tax shall be collected by the box-office, sales representative, credit card agency or store clerk at the point of sale. The collector shall hold and transfer the Tax as a separate line item to the State Franchise Tax Board (SFTB) along with the sales tax.

Federal law, code: (supply side economics; handled by the IRS) Upon reporting income to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The interpersonal violence user shall pay 100% of revenue when income tax is due.

WHERE: Immediately upon receipt, the local revenue office, SFTB or IRS shall transfer the Tax directly to the

Veterans Administration

Social Security Administration

Department of Justice

(the Administration) according to the Restorative Justice legislation. There, the Tax shall be placed immediately into the Restitution Fund (the Fund).

HOW: The Administration shall administer the Fund in the same manner as disability benefits. All of the Fund shall immediately go directly to the victims of violent crimes. The Administration shall deliver these restitution checks as it does disability checks.

Administrative salaries cover the administration of disability benefits to civilians and veterans of foreign wars. So, the social workers shall continue to be paid through these Administration funds.

Each victim shall receive the amount prescribed by the Department of Justice. The losses restituted by the Fund shall equal the averages published by the Bureau of Justice Statistics for pertinent categories of violence.

The Fund shall be disbursed on a first come, first served basis. Disability recipients who are eligible for the Fund shall be automatically restituted through the Fund. They shall be asked for any supplementary information needed to ascertain the amount of restitution. The victim may claim only the personal losses accrued over the present lifetime.

WHO: Local, municipal and state law, code or statute: (handled by the local revenue office or the SFTB). The payers shall be the violence users. They include all entities that use violence products.

Federal law, code: (handled by the IRS) The payers shall be all entities that produce violence. They include all violence producers, providers and pushers.

The restitution recipients shall be the US citizens victimized and disenfranchised by violent crime in the USA. *

SAVINGS FOR THE TAXPAYER: The Fund will replace disability benefits for eligible restitution recipients. That restores Social Security disability and retirement funds. There were 5,744,000 victims of violent crimes per year in the USA in 2001.* Many victims of violent crime need the Fund to overcome disability. If they are eligible for the Fund, they will stop receiving disability benefits. So, taxpayers may save billions of dollars for Social Security benefits.

Suppose all U.S. rape victims are challenged by authority figure violence. Then, each is eligible for about $8,000 per year from the SSA, or about $24,000 from the VA. Suppose none could get a court to prosecute. So, they will automatically be eligible for restitution through the Fund. Suppose the half-million yearly rape victims receive funds only from the SSA. Then, taxpayers would save this $4 billion per year for Social Security.

Also, the taxpayer saves the interest on the $400 billion public loan, as described next.

RESTORATION OF THE ECONOMY: The federal deficit is about $400 billion. Actually, about $397 billion per year* is missing from the Gross National Product. According to the Department of Justice, violent criminals stole it. The Tax will collect these stolen funds directly from violent criminals and other violence supporters.

This $400 billion per year will be returned to the Gross National Product. It will be restored through spending by Fund recipients. Thus, it will be spent on health care, families, homes, careers and related items. It will help recover these items which were lost due to the violence. Thus, there will be an increase in job opportunities in most peaceful sectors of the economy.

About 10% of the Fund will become sales tax during this spending. This is a $40 billion per year increase in local and state government revenue.

There will be a large increase in job opportunities for caregivers for the challenged. The number of challenged Americans will decrease as victims regain stolen aspects of life. Violent crime will decrease as targets of violence find safe homes affordable. Faith in the justice system will be restored as this means of social justice is implemented. The restoration will save banks from the burden of America's fiscal irresponsibility.

COSTS TO THE TAXPAYER: There is no net cost to the taxpayer in the peace economy. The Tax shall be collected directly from violent criminals and other violence supporters.

The administration of the Tax shall use existing funds allocated from income tax revenue. Currently, $62 billion of income tax revenue is spent on the Veterans Administration (VA), according to the New York Times, Feb 4, 2003, p25. The Social Security Administration (SSA) also operates on income tax revenue.

Some SSA and VA beneficiaries will be eligible for the Fund. These will continue using these Administrations. The amount on their checks will change. It changes every few years, anyway. The checks shall say, "for restitution" in place of "for disability."

A level of earned income will still restrict eligibility. It will change. It changes every few years, anyway. It will be equivalent to the average loss estimated for pertinent categories of violence. The Department of Justice publishes this dollar amount through the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

The same administrators will conduct the same application procedure. The number and general content of questions asked will remain the same.

The IRS might take in larger amounts from the same sales personnel. It might disburse larger amounts to the same Administrations.

The GAO shall conduct regular reviews and audits to ascertain enforcement. These shall include inspection of government and corporate invoice and procurement documents. The GAO shall assign the task of enforcement to existing employees as needed. The compliance requirements shall be added to the pertinent existing specifications as line items. The final report detailing quantitative analysis of compliance data shall be open to public inspection. The work hours shall be charged to existing procurement, taxation and administration investigations.

This legislation fits into the routines of the Administration, the Department of Justice, the IRS and the GAO. So, this legislation incurs no cost to the peace economy taxpayer.

Note: Violence shall be taxed the way alcohol is. Anything that is sold for intoxication is taxed at a rate of about 40%. Anything that is sold for medicinal purposes is taxed at about 10%. It may contain alcohol. But it has redeeming value. Cough medicine is sold to prevent a sore throat. It contains ingredients other than alcohol that are scientifically or historically proven to prevent a cough or sore throat. It does not matter that an alcoholic could buy enough cough medicine to feed an alcohol addiction. However, the medicinal effect of cough syrup discourages such abuse. It does not stop alcoholics from buying liquor. It simply assures that the social cost of consuming alcohol is paid.

Examples: This publication contains mention of violence for the specific purpose of preventing it from happening to you. Thus, it has redeeming value. So, a reading or copy of it would not be taxed above sales tax if sold. However, a reading of a shoot-m-up movie would be taxed at 100%. So would a copy of a magazine article simply describing examples of child pornography. .

* approximation from the most recent Bureau of Justice Statistics found; That $400 billion is 30% of $1,300,000,000,000, which is less than the amount "lost" by the Pentagon; sources include military and para-military training, weapons documentation, field manuals, offensive weapons, military base leases, weapon storage facilities, weapon transport and delivery systems, offensive war planning committee expenses; video games that engage players in gratuitous violence; murder for fun stories; slasher movies; any shoot-out portrayed as a win-lose contest

Talking Points:

The problem with universal health care is that the violent exploit it by forcing healthy people into hospitals. That causes legal care costs to skyrocket. If you have universal health care, it is only fair to have universal legal care. Legal remedies for violence will prevent many, if not most, health care costs.

Violence destroys the home, family, friends, career and health of the victim. The violence epidemic has overwhelmed the victims and their families. So, they become easier targets for cowardly violence addicts.

Some prisons offer a cure for violence addiction. A comprehensive cure shall be provided at all prisons and jails. This cure is attached as addendum A. Others offer only time for them to heal on their own. First, the community has to get the addict into a reformative or corrective system. Meanwhile, the community has to cloister and support the victim to allow time for healing. Communities that fail either task are doomed. They are doomed to repeat the cycle of injury and healing. They are doomed to repeat the cycle of victimization and unemployment. Such a negligent community incurs preventable costs.

The peaceful become burdened with prosecution and restorative justice. Many peaceful people have legal expenses for prosecuting violent crimes, and so, are trying to help the addicts quit, and thus, are health care providers. Those who are productive members of society pay with precious time to help the justice system administer health care to violence addicts.

If communities prosecuted all violent crime for the victim, they could end the interpersonal violence epidemic. Such a comprehensive health care plan prevents most injuries. It prevents the need for most emergency room visits. It prevents domestic violence. It reduces the incidence of rape. That reduces the number of single parents. That reduces the number of impoverished individuals.

A conservational health care plan provides the violence addicts with the correctional care they need. It keeps the violent criminals from attacking others. It strengthens victims of violence to resist subsequent attacks. It relieves the burden of society that currently falls squarely upon the shoulders of victims. It compensates any individual who helps heal victims of violence addicts.

A restorative justice plan views with compassion both victim and offender. It ends the cycle of victimization and unemployment. It ends the cycle of injury and healing. It conserves health. It is the compassionate conservative choice.

The Green Party shall recognize and observe the following.

Any and every publicly funded health care plan shall cover injury prevention. It shall cover all legal expenses of violence prevention. It shall cover all costs associated with prosecution related to violent offenses, including civil suits. It shall cover the prevention of posttraumatic stress disorder and other conditions caused by negligence. It shall cover medically prescribed restoration and social support. It shall cover all expenses related to restoring victims of violence to wholeness. It shall cover one justice/legal counsel check-up per year to assess the risk of injury to and by the patient.

Violence users shall provide funding for injury prevention coverage for victims of violence. Publicly funded health care is part of the process of restorative justice. As such, it is funded through the judicial branch of the government. The courts shall streamline the process of collecting funds from convicts.

The courts which collect funds shall appropriate per capita funding to the judiciary in all jurisdictions. They shall appropriate these funds to hospitals in their jurisdiction based upon results. Patient reports shall be the primary source of the recorded results of hospital operations. Patient reports may include testimony concerning hospital utility in health preservation and recovery, No reports made by hospital personnel may influence determination of funding. It shall be unlawful to fund hospitals reported to have used violence, coercion or other harm.

Society helps the violence providers/pushers provide the violence addicts with the health/reform/correctional care they need. It keeps the violent criminals from attacking others. It makes victims of violence resistant to subsequent attacks. It relieves the social burden that currently falls squarely upon the shoulders of targets of frequent violence. It compensates any individual who helps heal victims or violence addicts.

Educate children as early as possible how to recognize, prevent and report violence, addiction, and other concepts children need to know. Include peace maintenance instruction and role-play in all public school physical education courses. Provide role-playing classes in negotiation and mediation in elementary school curricula. Provide chastity maintenance and martial arts courses in junior high school curricula. Provide assertiveness and violence de-escalation training courses in senior high school curricula. Include crime reporting instruction and role-play in all civics courses. Promote the role of men in the conservation of peace and health.

Make adoption nonprofit, not coerced, not anonymous, revocable and less stigmatized. Require the provision of free legal, medical, prenatal, postnatal, and childcare services for the birth mother, and free adoption services by any agent. Take the economic factor out of the decision about a human life. Take the profit motive out of the rape/divorce/battering/kidnap industry.

Empower doctors to provide victims of molestation or violence with prescriptions for immediate restorative justice services. Empower doctors to provide a prescription for prosecutorial legal counseling with every prescription for abortion. Abortion shall be a nonprofit industry, with all revenue going to the restoration of victims of violence. Abortion providers may compete for grants for operating expenses. Government funding shall be awarded based solely upon the percentage of abortions that result in prosecution of rape/incest/trafficking/solicitation/kidnap/abduction/fraud/racketeering.

The community is responsible for initiating restorative justice. That includes doctors, counselors, police and anyone who is notified that a violent crime occurred. Prevention of suffering requires that the community provide immediate social support to all victims of reproductive system violations.