Friday, July 17, 2015

Ah, Money.


 Poor Bilbo. Fortune sparkling. Future dim.

We at Peace Engineering wish we had a tiny portion of those sparklers for our various projects, but because that is not the case, we are asking Folks to contribute what they can.
  1. Initially we are asking for donations to cover office space costs, speaking tour costs, and the costs of publishing our Peaceful Town Beacon. That money goes directly into our Peace account at the American Trust Bank in Dubuque, Iowa.
  2. Later, after we've reached the $5000.00 threshold that requires registering with the Federal Elections Commission as Mr. Miller transitions to official candidate, we'll establish a campaign account distinctly separate from the Peace account.
  3. Finally, the donations will be applied to the process whereby Peace Engineering, Inc. acquires 501-3c status.
We thank you in advance for your kind generosity! Donations for the project can be made by mailing a check made out to "John H. Miller Peace Account" to:


John H. Miller
Peace Engineering, Inc.
P.O. Box 3037, Dubuque, Iowa 52004.

 (If you have questions for us, please call 563-564-6221)



 What follows is a reprint of the Money Section in our first Peaceful Town Beacon:

"No wonder things on Earth are so fouled up: First, money makes the world go 'round, and second, money is the root of all evil. Bad Mojo indeed.

In light of the average citizen's disgust with campaign financing and their conclusion that offices are bought and not earned, we are composing a letter to Candidate Trump, who claims a net worth of four billion dollars [1], proposing that he level the playing field for a few of the other less wealthy candidates.

Obviously Bilbo has other concerns, but in a quiet moment even he would have trouble wrapping his head around Smaug's immense wealth.

How big is a billion? On YouTube, Angelstar22 has a short video explaining that if we count one number per second for sixteen hours per day, then we're able to count to one thousand in sixteen minutes. Then, depending on the time spent pronouncing the longer numbers, we shall arrive at one million in a little over two weeks. It gets worse: Counting as fast as we can, reaching one billion may take fifty years! Finally, if we live forever like Lazarus Long in Robert Heinlein's Time Enough For Love, we can leisurely count to a trillion in 31.7 million years.

Our letter proposes that Mr. Trump share an amount equal to the annual percentage yield of his estimated four billion dollars compounded monthly at .01%. How much is that, and how many candidates could benefit? Lo and behold, fifty candidates could shovel one million dollars into their war chests. (We might accept one thousand dollars, but we'd place it in our peace chest.)

Soon we shall present our Peaceful Town Beacon on the Internet, and then you'll be able to click on links that are presented in important articles such as this one from Bill Moyers, in which this warning appears:

Consider the new report from the watchdog Sunlight Foundation: From 2007 to 2012, the two hundred most politically active corporations in the United States spent almost $6 billion for lobbying and campaign contributions. And they received more than $4 trillion in US government contracts and other forms of assistance. That’s $760 for every dollar spent on influence, a stunning return on investment.

Only God knows what is meant by "other forms of assistance".

Note 1: Recently Mr. Trump announced he is worth ten billion and, in filing his personal financial disclosure with the Federal Elections Commission, claimed 2014 income of $362 million dollars. This changes the "less-fortunate candidate" math substantially.