4 For All

Depending on when you are reading this, the book Why The Fuck Not? Is either already available or will be soon. I think you should get it and I think you should read it. Sure, I wrote it and I might make a buck or two if you buy it. But I promise you from the bottom of my heart that I am definitely not in it for money. In fact, I will promise from any part of my heart or any other vital or not so vital bodily organ. Granted, “I promise from the right-hand side of my gall bladder” doesn’t carry quite the same emotional impact. But if that’s what it takes to get the point across, then fine, I promise that too.

By the way if you want to read it but don’t want to pay for it, that’s fine too. Just contact me on this website and I’ll make sure you get it. No money or body parts necessary.

The truth is that I want you and lot’s of other people to read the book because I think it’s important. Again, that probably doesn’t carry a whole lot of weight because of course any author wants people to read what they wrote. But stay with me for a minute and you can decide if you think it’s important.

Why The Fuck Not? Is based on a simple premise but has massive implications. Our country now has more than sufficient resources to guarantee the basics of existence for everybody. This is true. I promise from no less than 39% of my spleen. But let’s define some terms. When I say “basics of existence”, we are talking about seven things:

· Food

· Water

· Housing

· Power

· Education

· Healthcare

· Internet

We could argue about what defines “basic existence” and clothing could and should be on this list. But clothing is so incredibly not scarce that we could stop making clothes for a decade or more and still have way more than enough to go around. In fact there is so much clothing that it actually fucks up some of the countries that we try and give our leftovers to.

Not everything on this list is equal in terms of costs and difficulty so we rearrange the list to group them into four parts that we refer to as THE BIG 4:

· Food/Water/Clothing

· Education/Internet

· Healthcare

· Housing

There are your Big 4 of basic existence.

The book calls for a universal guarantee of these basics called 4 FOR ALL.

And by the end of the book I am going to ask you to put aside your political differences for the time being so that we can all work together to demand and accomplish the goal of 4 FOR ALL. Demand is the key word and we are going to ask nothing less from any politician who wants our vote. Because hopefully enough of us will

VOTE 4 FOR ALL!

Ok. There is a good chance that you didn’t know this was possible. Even now you might not be convinced despite my promise of various fairly important body parts. But it is true that we have the resources to guarantee THE BIG 4 to everyone. What’s more, it wouldn’t cause anyone to have less than they have now. I promise on your choice of either of my kidneys, that this is the truth.

So just like in the book I’m going to ask you the question. Since we have the resources to do it, should we do it? Should we VOTE 4 FOR ALL and try to make it happen? And now we get into the reason for the name of the book. Because if we do indeed have the ability to do it, why wouldn’t we?

Why The Fuck Not?

The book is loosely in three parts. First, an explanation of what The BIG 4 are, not unlike the explanation above, but more so. And a lengthy and somewhat disheartening explanation of how things have gotten so bad. Second, and probably most importantly, an exploration of what it would mean to accomplish it. Third, two sets of policies. The first set is meant to make the second set possible. The latter is a group of explicit policy changes that would move us from the world we live in now into a 4 FOR ALL world.

Probably half or more of you are right now calling me a “commie” under your breath. Or perhaps “idiot”. At least one of you just called me “liverlips”. Don’t ask me why. You said it.

But no, this isn’t communism, socialism, or any other “ism”. Most people skipped that class and have no fucken clue what any of them mean anyway. But this is not communism in any sense of the word. In, fact it is meant to save capitalism from the mostly foreign corporate oligarchs that currently own all of our politicians.

Most of you have also already thought something along the lines of “nobody would ever work because we are giving them everything”. I understand. That is our first instinct. In fact, it was my first instinct. But scratch just below that instinctive reaction and think it through. Of course people would still choose to work if they can. We’re not guaranteeing anybody a free 80-inch TV or a trip to France.

We will be guaranteed the basics of existence. Nothing more. Guaranteed equality of opportunity not equality of outcome. Anything beyond these basics we would still need to work for. And in a 4 FOR ALL world we would all have as much education as we need, want and are capable of. Think of all of the talent and potential that would be unleashed. Of course people would work. And people would have the tools and education that would raise productivity in ways we can scarcely imagine.

Capitalism is still the least bad economic system available. We really should try it. Because what we live with now is not capitalism by any definition. It’s just legalized corruption where the (mostly foreign) corporate masters buy and sell politicians and write the rules so that they can get even more money and buy even more power and influence. It really is that simple. And it really is that bad.

I spend a pretty good amount of time in this book trying to trace how it got this bad. But at the end of the day what really matters is that we still have time to fix it. But time is running short.

Look, I’m not delusional. I know this book is the longest of longshots. A hail Mary into an endzone with only one receiver who just might be missing a kidney and running out of bounds. But isn’t it worth a shot? Isn’t this country, which is the greatest in the history of the world, worth a shot? I’m getting old and I don’t have a lot of skin left in this game. But I still think it’s worth a shot. It is after all, the polite thing to do. Try to clean up a bit before I get ready to leave.

Another big section of the book is trying to understand just how much different and better a 4 FOR ALL world would be.

I’m not exaggerating when I say that it took me weeks to really comprehend it. Writing the book itself was part of my trying to fully understand it. But what it really boils down to is this . . .

FEAR!

Almost every decision we make in life can be traced back to fear of being homeless and hungry. Because to be honest, all but the tiniest few of us are one or two bad breaks or decisions away from complete squalor. Even a millionaire can be wiped out by a single illness to themselves or a family member.

Try to comprehend a world without that fear. Try to imagine a world where even if everything went completely wrong you would still be assured of the basics of existence. How many decisions do you make every single day that are affected by that fear. It would be easier to count the decisions that aren’t affected by it.

Almost everything we do is affected. Almost everything we teach our children is part of that fear. Who we marry. Having or not having kids. Where we work. What we study. Here’s a big one. Would very many of us think to try to cheat our customers or steal a bag of potato chips. Would we have the same incentive to sell each other addictive substances. Whether it be from 7-Eleven, your local cocaine dealer, or the delightful opium salesmen of the Sackler Family.

I’m not saying that bad people would completely stop being bad or doing bad things. But it’s a lot easier to be moral in a world where the alternative is not starvation. They say that everyone has their price. But I suspect that the whole hitman market would all but dry up. There just wouldn’t be much to gain by robbing that liquor store or selling your neighbor boner pills that don’t work.

I could babble on about this for a long time. And I really get deep into it in the book. But I think you’ve got the general idea. And as a personal favor to me. I would ask that you consider just how much better life would be for you and those around you.

This concept is not as farfetched as it may sound to you. It really is just us as a society deciding that there is a bar under which we will allow no one to fall. We do that to some extent already. All we would be doing is raising that bar.

All of us would enjoy true freedom, true liberty. It is the most patriotic thing imaginable. All of us would have the minimum we need. And most definitely not at the expense of someone else.

4 FOR ALL is not the end of anything. It is the beginning. My friends, if we can pull this off it would be nothing less than the beginning of true civilization.

Truly the land of the free and the home of the brave. We would be the first civilization on earth to be truly free. And it would make us the bravest people in history. Brave enough to finally live up to the great vision of our founding fathers.

It would create a free land of equality of opportunity for everyone.

I’ll bet my intestines on it.

Read the book. Vote 4 FOR ALL. Tell a friend. Better yet, tell a rival. Thanks!