2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #251 "TREATMENT COURTS WORK!"

       As I often say on my radio podcast All Rise! The Libertarian Way with Judge Jim Gray, we all know that many things are going wrong today all around the world, but we do not particularly focus upon the fact that lots of things are actually going right as well.  And one of them is Treatment Courts, otherwise known as Collaborative Courts.  So what are those courts and what do they do?  Here in Orange County and, increasingly, all around our country we have Homeless Courts, Veterans Courts, Drug Courts, Mental Disability Courts and others.  And these courts do gratifyingly good jobs in treating the underlying problems that give rise to crimes in the first place.  They are called collaborative because the teams are composed of judges, social workers, counselors, medical doctors, prosecutors, defense attorneys and probation officers.  Yes, there is coercion that “encourages” the subjects/defendants to be involved, but those people quickly see that, if they take the programs seriously, not only will the criminal charges be dismissed but their lives will be much better.  So the programs are successful.

      When I was first appointed to the Bench at the end of 1983, it quickly became apparent to me that alcohol-related offenses were the largest unmet problems facing our courts.   So, I am proud to say, within six months of my appointment we had up and running what was probably the first Drug Court in the country.  Knowing full well that if the offenders were alcoholics they would continue to drink, and then almost certainly drive and pose unacceptably large risks to hurt themselves or others, we put them on a special program that demanded total abstinence.  In fact, I would tell them if they even ate rum cake and I found out about it, I would put them in jail.  But we did give them support with the Probation Department to oversee the program and the Orange County Health Care Agency to provide treatment.  And we were successful in keeping alcoholics, or what we called “high-risk problem drinkers,” off alcohol for six months, which was as long as I was able to keep statistics.  Happily now there are similar programs for the mentally ill, homeless and veterans.  For example, many people who are mentally ill self-medicate with mostly illicit substances in order to “keep their demons away.”  Thus it does no good whatsoever to put them in jail.  And, since jail is both the most expensive option as well as the purveyor of additional harm to these mentally fragile people, today’s approaches serve everyone’s interests.  So I just thought that you would like to know about these developments, because the best way to “get tough on crime” is to reduce it.

      Quote of the Week: “I had a rose named after me and I was very flattered.  But I was not pleased to read the description in the catalogue: ‘No good in a bed, but fine against a wall.’”  Eleanor Roosevelt

Judge Jim Gray (Ret.)

2012 Libertarian candidate for Vice President, along with

Governor Gary Johnson as the candidate for President

Please listen to our weekly radio show entitled “All Rise! The Libertarian Way with Judge Jim Gray” as we discuss timely issues, and show how they will be addressed more beneficially by employing Libertarian values and approaches.  You can hear it every Friday morning at 7 Pacific/10 Eastern by going to www.VoiceAmerica.com, clicking on the Variety Channel and then upon the word “live.”  You can also hear past shows on demand as well.  And, by the way, these 2 Paragraph columns are now on my website at www.JudgeJImGray.com, Facebook and LinkedIn at judgejimgray, Twitter at judgejamesgray, and wordpress at judgejimgray.wordpress.com  Please visit these sites for past editions, and do your part to spread the word about the importance of Liberty.  In addition, my new book entitled “2 Paragraphs 4 Liberty: Solutions that are Practical, Effective, Responsible, Libertarian, is now available at Amazon.com.   Please read and discuss it with friends, and send in a review.

2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #246 "A PROPOSAL FOR SOLVING OUR HOMELESS PROBLEM"

On Sunday, November 24, 2019 I published an op-ed column in the Orange County Register about my proposal for an institutional approach to the homeless crisis.  Instead of our normal “2 Paragraphs” edition, this week I am substituting that column.  As always, feedback would be appreciated.  

Here is the Register column for your thoughts.

             Our great country seems to be vexed by the Homeless issue.  All of us should take affront that people living in the United States and within its laws are being reduced to “living on the streets.”  So how is this situation being perpetuated, and how should it be addressed?

             As we have seen, the various governments’ responses around the country to the homeless issue have been sporadic if not spasmodic.  Every once in a while a state or the federal government will set aside fairly large amounts of money in one-time payments, or temporarily open an armory, either to make themselves feel better or to reduce some political heat.  But then the cold hard facts are that the problems continue on virtually as before.

             So what we need instead is an institutional response that should greatly reduce this national and even moral problem.  My approach is modeled after Dr. Milton Friedman’s “negative income tax” proposal, and is as follows, with the amounts of money used only for illustrative purposes:

1.       No one in our country will pay any income taxes on their first $30,000 of earnings from whatever source – not you, me, Bill Gates or anyone else.  (This could evolve into a national graduated flat tax, but that is a different issue.)

2.       For those people who earn no money, regardless of the reason, anyone who is at least 18 years of age, a citizen of our country or here legally with a green card will receive a stipend from the federal government in the amount of $15,000 per year – probably broken down into monthly payments of $1,250.  However, for every dollar they earn they will lose 50 cents of the stipend.  (Accordingly, everyone will have an incentive to earn the extra dollar.)  And, importantly enough, ALL other welfare payments could be abolished, except those for people with truly special needs.

3.       So what about the homeless?  The answer is that if each of those people had the equivalent of an ATM account with $1,250 automatically deposited into it each month the private sector would quickly start providing low-cost room and board-style living for each of them, probably at a competitive rate of about $1,000 per month, which would leave the recipients an additional $250 to pay for personal items, clothing, etc.

That would be the program.  Of course, the opposing argument is that many of these people would simply throw their money away on alcohol and other drugs, gambling or otherwise be irresponsible.  So what about them?  The answer is that basically the homeless issue is and should be a local problem overseen by city and county governments.  The federal government could and should participate as stated above, and then leave the issue to local control.  And then at the local level there should be a triage system to address different groups of the homeless people, as follows:

1.       Some people are temporarily down on their luck, but they both can and want again to function successfully in our society.  For those people a temporary financial boost in their ATM accounts would probably be all they would need to get back on their feet. 

2.       Another much larger group would need to be screened for mental health, drug and alcohol and other debilitating conditions.  Then they would, if necessary, be given access to appropriate assistance, to the degree that if they needed a conservatorship or a program of drug rehabilitation, that would be mandated. 

3.       The final group would be comprised of those who simply want to continue living that type of life – or at least think they do.  Those people would be provided places to live such as at one of these room and board facilities, or at various government developmental centers, or even some of the presently lightly used reserve military facilities or the like.  As we all agree, no one in our society should be arrested for “camping” or trespassing on public property unless they have a place to live with a roof over their heads.  But this system would provide those places.  Then, once that system is in place, the police could resume their enforcement of local ordinances that prohibit things like littering and illegal camping, urinating or defecating in public, etc.  And a day or three in jail would help convince some of them to change habits.

Of course, there are always complications involved in any system like this, such as extra provisions being made for children and the differences in the costs of living in different parts of our country.  But those issues can be addressed locally without making the approach too complicated.

Accordingly, with the publication of this column, I am reaching out to all people of good will in our society, including the legal, medical, religious and social communities, as well as caring groups like the ACLU, NAACP, MALDEF, various rescue missions, places of worship and others.  In that regard, I openly say that I don’t purport to have all of the answers, but please join me in actively trying to find some by sending these ideas to your elected representatives.  Because, as it now exists, the homeless problem is untenable and is an insult to who we are a people.  And it calls for an institutional response to resolve it.

Question for the week: What is the difference between a raven and a crow?  Mostly unknown to people, a raven has five pinion feathers in its tail and a crow, which is smaller, has only four pinion feathers.  So the difference between a raven and a crow is a matter of a pinion. . . .

Judge Jim Gray (Ret.)

2012 Libertarian candidate for Vice President, along with

Governor Gary Johnson as the candidate for President

James P. Gray is a retired judge of the Superior Court in Orange County, California, a former Peace Corps Volunteer in Costa Rica, criminal defense attorney in the Navy JAG Corps, federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, and the 2012 Libertarian candidate for Vice President, along with Governor Gary Johnson as the candidate for President.

Please listen to our weekly radio show entitled “All Rise! The Libertarian Way with Judge Jim Gray” as we discuss timely issues, and show how they will be addressed more beneficially by employing Libertarian values and approaches.  You can hear it every Friday morning at 7 Pacific/10 Eastern by going to www.VoiceAmerica.com, clicking on the Variety Channel and then upon the word “live.”  You can also hear past shows on demand as well.  And, by the way, these 2 Paragraph columns are now on my website at www.JudgeJImGray.com, Facebook and LinkedIn at judgejimgray, Twitter at judgejamesgray, and wordpress at judgejimgray.wordpress.com.  Please visit these sites for past editions, and do your part to spread the word about the importance of Liberty.  In addition, my new book entitled “2 Paragraphs 4 Liberty: Solutions that are Practical, Effective, Responsible, Libertarian, is now available at Amazon.com.   Please read and discuss it with friends, and send in a review.

2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #239 "AN INSTITUTIONAL APPROACH TO HOMELESSNESS"

To our 2 Paragraphs Family,

Instead of a normal edition, this week I am forwarding to you a copy of my Op-Ed that was published in the Orange County Register on Sunday, November 24, 2019 about how to address and resolve the our country’s Homeless Crisis.  As always, all feedback would be appreciated.  Here it is:

"AN INSTITUTIONAL APPROACH TO HOMELESSNESS"

                Our great country seems to be vexed by the Homeless issue.  All of us should take affront that people living in the United States and within its laws are being reduced to “living on the streets.”  So how is this situation being perpetuated, and how should it be addressed?

                As we have seen, the various governments’ responses around the country to the homeless issue have been sporadic if not spasmodic.  Every once in a while a state or the federal government will set aside fairly large amounts of money in one-time payments, or temporarily open an armory, either to make themselves feel better or to reduce some political heat.  But then the cold hard facts are that the problems continue on virtually as before.

                So what we need instead is an institutional response that should greatly reduce this national and even moral problem.  My approach is modeled after Dr. Milton Friedman’s “negative income tax” proposal, and is as follows, with the amounts of money used only for illustrative purposes:

1.       No one in our country will pay any income taxes on their first $30,000 of earnings from whatever source – not you, me, Bill Gates or anyone else.  (This could evolve into a national graduated flat tax, but that is a different issue.)

2.       For those people who earn no money, regardless of the reason, anyone who is at least 18 years of age, a citizen of our country or here legally with a green card will receive a stipend from the federal government in the amount of $15,000 per year – probably broken down into monthly payments of $1,250.  However, for every dollar they earn they will lose 50 cents of the stipend.  (Accordingly, everyone will have an incentive to earn the extra dollar.)  And, importantly enough, ALL other welfare payments could be abolished, except those for people with truly special needs.

3.       So what about the homeless?  The answer is that if each of those people had the equivalent of an ATM account with $1,250 automatically deposited into it each month the private sector would quickly start providing low-cost room and board-style living for each of them, probably at a competitive rate of about $1,000 per month, which would leave the recipients an additional $250 to pay for personal items, clothing, etc.

That would be the program.  Of course, the opposing argument is that many of these people would simply throw their money away on alcohol and other drugs, gambling or otherwise be irresponsible.  So what about them?  The answer is that basically the homeless issue is and should be a local problem overseen by city and county governments.  The federal government could and should participate as stated above, and then leave the issue to local control.  And then at the local level there should be a triage system to address different groups of the homeless people, as follows:

1.       Some people are temporarily down on their luck, but they both can and want again to function successfully in our society.  For those people a temporary financial boost in their ATM accounts would probably be all they would need to get back on their feet. 

2.       Another much larger group would need to be screened for mental health, drug and alcohol and other debilitating conditions.  Then they would, if necessary, be given access to appropriate assistance, to the degree that if they needed a conservatorship or a program of drug rehabilitation, that would be mandated. 

3.       The final group would be comprised of those who simply want to continue living that type of life – or at least think they do.  Those people would be provided places to live such as at one of these room and board facilities, or at various government developmental centers, or even some of the presently lightly used reserve military facilities or the like.  As we all agree, no one in our society should be arrested for “camping” or trespassing on public property unless they have a place to live with a roof over their heads.  But this system would provide those places.  Then, once that system is in place, the police could resume their enforcement of local ordinances that prohibit things like littering and illegal camping, urinating or defecating in public, etc.  And a day or three in jail would help convince some of them to change habits.

Of course, there are always complications involved in any system like this, such as extra provisions being made for children and the differences in the costs of living in different parts of our country.  But those issues can be addressed locally without making the approach too complicated.

Accordingly, with the publication of this column, I am reaching out to all people of good will in our society, including the legal, medical, religious and social communities, as well as caring groups like the ACLU, NAACP, MALDEF, various rescue missions, places of worship and others.  In that regard, I openly say that I don’t purport to have all of the answers, but please join me in actively trying to find some by sending these ideas to your elected representatives.  Because, as it now exists, the homeless problem is untenable and is an insult to who we are a people.  And it calls for an institutional response to resolve it.

Quote for the week: “The federal government’s debt is the most immoral of all taxes because it is a tax upon people who are not yet born.  So it is taxation without representation.”  Dominic Frisby

Judge Jim Gray (Ret.)

2012 Libertarian candidate for Vice President, along with

Governor Gary Johnson as the candidate for President

Please listen to our weekly radio show entitled “All Rise! The Libertarian Way with Judge Jim Gray” as we discuss timely issues, and show how they will be addressed more beneficially by employing Libertarian values and approaches.  You can hear it every Friday morning at 7 Pacific/10 Eastern by going to www.VoiceAmerica.com, clicking on the Variety Channel and then upon the word “live.”  You can also hear past shows on demand as well.  And, by the way, these 2 Paragraph columns are now on Facebook and LinkedIn at judgejimgray, Twitter at judgejamesgray, and wordpress at judgejimgray.wordpress.com.  Please visit these sites for past editions, and do your part to spread the word about the importance of Liberty.

2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #220 "A P"

     Historians tell us that poverty was the pervasive norm all around the world before the Industrial Revolution.  Before that remarkable achievement, most people lived off the land, and if their crops failed they often starved to death.  In addition, there was little clean water and less sanitation for sewage, disease was rampant, and giving birth was a dangerous situation for both mother and child.  That situation began to change with the Industrial Revolution, which resulted in more people moving into cities, gradually having refrigerated and canned food to eat, more safety slowly coming to the workplace, diseases beginning to be more understood and addressed, and generally people’s lives becoming safer, healthier and longer.  Of course, poverty in the 1800s and 1900s still widely existed, but the quality of life for those in poverty was demonstrably higher.

      So what does poverty look like today?  Most people at least in our country have a roof over their heads, indoor plumbing with clean running hot and cold water, enough food to eat, a cell phone and a color television set, access to emergency medical care, and their children get free K-12 education, along with a free lunch when needed.  Yes, there still is often found a wide disparity between the wealthy and the poor, and that doesn’t address the plight of the homeless,* but the life of the poverty-stricken today is far better than that of most of the wealthy people of the 16^th Century.  Of course, that does not mean that people of good will should not continue their efforts today to help the poor, but everyone, including the poor, should also keep a perspective about what poverty today truly is.  Far better to live now than before the Industrial Revolution – which was brought to us by the Free Enterprise System along with Private Property Rights.  Without those highly successful approaches, many of us would probably be starving right now.

*As previously stated in these pages, I suggest the homeless issue be addressed institutionally, instead of occasionally having governments throw money at it, by having a safety net for every adult citizen and holder of a green card in our country, which would consist of a monthly stipend of a certain amount of money – except for those who truly have special needs.  Then we could abolish all other welfare systems and let the Free Market take over from there.

Judge Jim Gray (Ret.)

2012 Libertarian candidate for Vice President, along with

Governor Gary Johnson as the candidate for President

Quote for the week: “It’s never too late to be what you might have been.”  George Eliot

Please listen to our weekly radio show entitled “All Rise! The Libertarian Way with Judge Jim Gray” as we discuss timely issues, and show how they will be addressed more beneficially by employing Libertarian values and approaches.  You can hear it every Friday morning at 7 Pacific/10 Eastern by going to www.VoiceAmerica.com, clicking on the Variety Channel and then upon the word “live.”  You can also hear past shows as well.  And, by the way, these 2 Paragraph columns are now on Facebook and LinkedIn at judgejimgray, Twitter at judgejamesgray, and wordpress at judgejimgray.wordpress.com.  Please visit these sites for past editions, and do your part to spread the word about the importance of Liberty.