“Jump-Starting America, The Grass-Roots Revolution” was published in 1995. It’s been 20 years, and in my opinion,
a new edition would be mostly the same, except for a few updates.

The book advocates an end to the War on Drugs. Backed in a letter from former Secretary of State George Shultz, who served under President Reagan, the book advocates Drug Regulation rather than total illegalization or total legalization. Since that time, marijuana has these days achieved that status. But, we wtill don’t have a Federal law that would allow addicts to get their drugs at low cost legally, just for their own use. This would cut down the massive prison population that would take the USA out of the category of having the highest number of imprisoned citizens of any country in the world. And, it would markedly reduce crimes committed by addicts to afford their drugs at high street prices. Crimes such as robberies, burglaries and street dealing, to make the addicts’drugs more affordable, would be a thing of the past. Drug Lords, who then would be unable to sell much drug for dealers to sell at high street prices, would have to take their billions of dollars and invest them in legal businesses such as resorts, casinos, hotels, and any number of other businesses. By agreeing to quit as Drug Lords, they should mainly be able to avoid imprisonment or violent deaths, and most could lead a normal life enjoying the riches already piled up.

Education is another major topic. The book advocates Community Schools, in which parents and communities would take over schools from government entities, in order to assure local control and better schools that would focus on education based on each child’s abilities and interests, not on never-ending government controlled education with total emphasis on testing instead of on what’s best for our young people.

Health care problems are also addressed, including data showing that only 14% of each dollar spent by Medicare goes to actual patient care, with 86% paying for government bureaucratic and administrative costs. Jump-Starting America advocates a Community Health Association Plan, “CHAP”, owned and operated as a non-profit community entity. This would provide major lowering of the costs of health care, with emphasis on preventive medicine, and much better health for Americans.

And there is much more. The book emphasizes examples of progress that was then being made by community volunteers and activists, and advocates more of that. There is still so much more that needs to be done.

The book is still available on Amazon.com. The point is: Waiting for politicians and governements to solve problems means waiting forever. The same point is made in my more recent book, “The Peace Prescription”, for which I have been nominated for the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize. The book tells how ordinary citizens as well as leaders of warring factions can prevent or stop further violence, and instead, negotiate, bargain, trade and make deals.

The Peace Prescription is also available on Amazon.com. Reduced violence and war are also available… in the book.

Your comments and thoughts are welcome.

Thank you for your attention to this blog post.
Your friendly problem solver,
Dr. Ed Marshall