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The Center for the Study of Social Structures
	In The Beautiful Santa Barbara-by-the-Sea

(A quick and informal) Mission Statement

The Center for the Study of Social Structures is focused on ideas. We seek to find, and implement good, creative, constructive ideas to improve the human condition--to change things for the better--by starting right here in our United States of America and creatively changing and improving the social structures of these United States of America.

Changing the social structures of these United States of America.
Starting from nothing, hoping to make the United States a nicer, kinder, warmer, gentler society, more thoughtful, more like a loving parent to all.
Enormous task! Starting from nothing! Seeing a vision of cooperation toward common goals rather than a divided and divisive, opinionated, oppressive, harsh, judgmental, disciplinary, punitive, "cruel stepmother" government....

"Thine alabaster cities rise, undimmed by human tears...."

Why The Center for the Study of Social Structures rather than another organization? It is the positioning of The Center's interest and focus that makes the vast difference - that sets The Center apart from, say, an art museum or a symphony. Do you know the expression "seed money"? Seed money starts everything. Without seeds no plants are growing into food and flower. Seed money is basic, the essential that enables a later wonder-rewarding harvest of flowers and fruits and vegetables or creates shade trees that may grow and be harvested into the lumber used in the structure of our houses. Seed money can feed us and shelter us for years and years off into the unknown future. Then there's the expression "return on investment". Know that one? Return on investment varies from the secure percentage of United States Government issued or guaranteed interests in single digits 4, 5, 6, 7% through funds with top management returning 12, 15, 18, even 20% a year and off into far riskier equities or "deals" with potentially spectacular returns on investment 30 or 40 or 50% a year. Warren Buffett is one the Richest men in America -- The Oracle of Omaha, generally acknowledged as America's most skillful investor - Warren has averaged about a 22% increase each year. While it is axiomatic that your return on your investment is commensurate with the risk involved, a good head for business - for risk evaluation - makes a great difference. The Center has some "pretty far out" people. Know what one of their business plans suggests? A return of up to 1,000% in the first year and forever! [Sounds insane until you read the whole plan.] One proposal which starts with a snowball publicity and marketing campaign suggests $1 million can be rolled into funding of many millions which, if the publicity and marketing work as proposed would save all of us American as much as $1 billion dollars a week! Returns of this order are how The Center for The Study of Social Structures proposes to change the world. If America has $1 billion a week to spend, The Center is looking for your ideas: If you had $1 billion a week to spend, how would you spend it?

Are we a "Think tank?" Yes, but also a major step forward. Not just a "think tank" but a "think fountain", an "idea fountain", offering clean, pure, fresh new ideas-water-water-water in the thoughtless, almost mindless deserts devoid of fresh-flower thinking and lacking many of the wonderful gardens and flowers of the human mind! We say,"Bring out the new ideas!"

Social structure involves all our laws and rules and regulations, all our mores, folkways, customs and taboos, all our concepts of right and wrong and how we ought deal with one another. It is one enormous, unseen, intangible, governing, string-pulling, decision-making force that virtually no one sees from a position of overview. Average people have mindset: The average person "knows" good and bad. This average person is also the average American voter--the person who votes and elects those who make the mindset into formal laws which, in turn, confirm the mindset, etcetera and ad infinitum.

The question then: How can you change this mindset-thing?

The answer: to be sure, is not easy. But we have faith that it can be done!

"The people, informed, will govern wisely."

THE CENTER'S TARGET is improving our shared American human condition. There are an infinite number of possible approaches. Ours is through thinking (!)--using the world's most powerful computers--the human minds--looking carefully for the best of those supercomputers--the best of human minds--and asking the mind owners to share with The Center: Asking for the best supercomputer's owners for their very best products: New IDEAS!

The power of an idea whose time has come!

Our American social structure is our nation's center-core, heart-and-mind place-to-work and place-to-accomplish-and-achieve.

Remember Ross Perot on Larry King Live with his initial dream-ideas of United We Stand? Ross spoke to the American people with something new; with an alternative choice. Remember? When he turned over his flash card with his 800 phone number for the people to call, he almost blew the fuses at MCI's phone bank. They had 18,000 calls in the first minute.

"The people informed will govern wisely." "I believe in the people."

he Center is looking for people who would bring with them ideas and ideals and abilities of great worth to The Center. Do you have such things in mind? In any event, here's information about myself and The Center:
If you feel that you might like to spend a bit of your life trying to improve our social structure, let's perhaps exchange information and see if we are a win-win match.
Briefly, at the Center, we are trying (actually, seriously trying) to create a better world by changing America's mindset.

What if we lessen criminal behavior by decriminalizing? "When you make a law, you make a criminal."
What if we educate miscreants rather than punish them? "Cheaper Yale than jail!" (It is actually less expensive to keep a student at Yale than a prisoner in jail.)
What if we treat drug addictions as an illness rather than as a crime? "How old should you be to write your own prescriptions?" "Drug laws make criminals."
What if we extend and expand our present K-12 public school system down to B: Birth or OOD (Out of Diapers) and up through 16--college or university educations free for all interested and qualified students? Expand the present outmoded K-12 down and up into free public schools B-16?
What if graduate school, too, for those who are interested and qualified?
Perhaps, if you keep a "B" average graduate school is also free? Free public education--a new GI-Bill sort of thing expanded to B-17? Even B-20?
What if we install sturdy "charitable machines" to give away enough coins--50c $1 every 30 seconds--to those who will stand in the long, self-policing, serpentine, free-money line? You'd give to the needy if you could spare the change. I would, too. Why don't we get together and mobilize/computerize small, direct us-to-you charities to the needy? What if we stamp out panhandling, much petty theft and shoplifting as we go?

If you understand that people in America think they need lawyers and doctors, you see some of the social structure glimmering there in the fog.

THE CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF SOCIAL STRUCTURES

Postoffice Box 275
Santa Barbara-by-the-Sea California
93102-0275
(805)898-0502
e-mail: center@rain.org