Light Throughout The Night Chapter 4: The Peoples Army
Posted:
2023-01-21 At:
5:30 am:
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Chapter 4: The People’s Army
During the time Glow’s been away, the United States changed drastically. Truthfully, the country began changing years before Glow checked out of society.
While Glow was on the streets, uninterested in the world around her, many people were getting fed up with the very same world.
Technology eliminated hundreds of thousands of jobs. Wealth inequality climbed to staggering heights. The Government didn’t react quick enough. The current system stopped working.
The quality of life for many people dropped abruptly. They weren’t happy. They wanted a better life for themselves, a better life for their loved ones, not just for today, for future generations. Those people took action.
A new president ran for office. He saw a country of equals. He ran with the notion of equality for every American.
He wanted all American citizens to live a better life and didn’t think the status que adequate. He took out unconventional tv ads. An example of one of his ads is below:
“Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.”
Then, an image of thousands of homeless Americans sleeping on the streets was shown.
“Maybe it’s time we ask what our country can do for us.”
People bought into his vision. Thorough, informative information was displayed on his website showing how he planned to improve the country.
People took to his speeches as well.
“Our great great grandfathers were given their land by simply placing a steak in the ground. Our grandfathers fought with their lives, many losing their lives for a free country, a better America.
Today, to many people aren’t getting to experience a better America. They’re the homeless, poor and working poor. They don’t have a chance to strive or even survive. People are held hostage by their bills. That’s not why our forefathers risked and gave their lives.
If we achieve equality, we could educate more people. Those people will have the opportunity to innovate, create, strive, and live a quality of life worthy of an American.”
With 95% of the votes, the largest margin of victory in history, a new president was elected. In fact, the people didn’t just elect a new president, they elected an entire supporting cast, giving him what he needed to get things done.
That he did. Within months after winning the election he began taking action.
He started with his most radical idea: The implementation of a new army.
This was a different type of army. It was an army for the people. An army by the people.
The army wasn’t implemented to fight against anyone. They were implemented to fight for America, to fight for American citizens.
Regardless, their motto was similar to the motto used by the military, “Leave No Soldier Behind.” Except their motto is for citizens, every single citizen in the United States, “Leave No Citizen Behind.”
The Army For The People, By The People wasn’t just some publicity stunt. They were given power, real power to get things done.
They wanted to go to war. They were fighting for themselves. They were fighting for their country, for a better infrastructure, for the environment, and for equality.
The People’s Army was implemented to greatly reduce wealth inequality; to expand, improve and reduce the cost of education; to provide enough housing to ensure every American has a roof over their head; to take public transportation to a level most couldn’t imagine; and most importantly, to ensure every American is given the opportunity to obtain a quality of life worthy of America.
Previous Government administrations allocated and stored a variety of different materials. They began storing them shortly after World War II to prevent shortages during emergency situations. Inventory accumulated. Massive stockpiles of supplies were available.
Huge underground storage facility’s housed thousands of bricks, cement blocks, pallets of plywood, 2 X 4’s, steel beams, along with many other types of materials.
The People’s Army used the supplies to build houses, condos, apartment buildings and improve the infrastructure of the country.
The People’s Army purchased abandon factories, warehouses and vacant lots.
They purchased bulk lots of foreclosed properties from banks at discount prices. The purchase allowed banks to write off millions of dollars in bad debt. A stipulation in the purchase agreement alleviated those who lost their properties due to foreclosure, of the debt owed to the banks.
What wasn’t readily available was donated. People and businesses donated building materials, land and supplies worth millions.
Subsequently, a draft was held. A draft of Americans, for Americans. Americans who would work to ensure the quality of life for citizens improved tremendously.
The people drafted were required to serve two years. They were of all ages and all walks of life. Though, the Government only needed to draft a minimal number of citizens. People volunteered by the hundreds of thousands.
These were everyday people. They were mechanics, retail workers, engineers, farmers, manufactures, teachers, Doctors, and technology experts, to name a few. Many were paid at a much lower rate of pay than if they were working for a private company. Some were paid with land or housing.
In contrast, and in reality, these were people who weren’t asking what their country could do for them. They were doing what they could do for their country with materials provided by their country.
Very much like the draft for the military, exemptions applied. Single parents with children under the age of sixteen were exempt from the draft. The People’s Army could only draft a specific percentage of people from any individual business, depending on the size of the business.
Many of the draftees and volunteers were housed at military type barracks. Hundreds of barracks were setup throughout the country.
During summer months, schools were used as barracks when students were on vacation. When the People’s Army went through a town or city, truckloads of cots and bunk beds were brought into the schools.
During winter months, The People’s Army took over large open fields, setting up military style tents in the fields, doing whatever was necessary to get the job done before moving to the next location.
In many instances, some of the wealthiest Americans were sleeping in bunks next to some of the poorest Americans.
Convoys of camouflage vehicles traveled from location to location, transporting workers, building equipment and materials. Flatbed trucks carried bulldozers and cranes.
Local residents loved what The People’s Army was doing for the country, often running outside, cheering, as convoys drove through their neighborhoods.
The People’s Army built housing in both urban and rural areas. Skyscrapers were built by the hundreds and the skyline of many cities were turned into impressive feats. Thousands and thousands of houses, condos and apartment complexes were built, enough for the next two generations of citizens.
The projects were well planned. The People’s Army moved efficiently and quickly. Skyscrapers were designed to take up less land. Forests were preserved, and a sufficient amount of land was reserved for parks and farms. Rural houses were designed to fit in with their surroundings, minimally impacting the environment.
Skyscrapers were built without rooftop pools or gyms. The People’s Army left floors open incase residents decided to add a pool or gym at a later date on their own. Their priority was to ensure every citizen had a roof over their head.
Nevertheless, all the housing was built with the latest safety and green technology.
Housing was looked at as a human rights issue. Limits were placed on the number of houses, condos, apartments and acreage a single individual or entity could own.
When privately owned condo complexes are built, developers are now required to list all the units for sale at once, preventing price gouging. Purchase limits prevent any individual or entity from having to much power over condo associations.
The same was done for apartment complexes. With all available apartments listed for rent, market value is the actual market value, based on the supply and demand theory.
When the Government decided to limit the amount of acreage an individual or entity could own, they placed the following ad, simplifying the issue.
“What if there were only ten people in this country, and only ten acers of land? What if one person owned all ten acers? Would that be fair? Doesn’t this country belong to every single American?
We haven’t reached those extremes yet. Though, we are headed in that direction. Today, many Americans are without land, without a part of their own country.”
Limits were also placed on rental leases, capping the amounts landlords could penalize tenants. If a tenant moved before their lease ended, the amount the landlord was allowed to penalize the tenant was limited to a small percentage of the tenants monthly rent.
Residential rental properties were viewed as extra income. Landlords should expect the possibility of a vacant rental property and have previously planned for the financial burden in such cases.
Lastly, limits were placed on zoning laws. Limits communities, towns and cities could place on residents was now limited.
Previously, parts of the country implemented zoning laws making it difficult to build affordable housing and sometimes any additional housing in a specific location.
The laws were implemented to keep the area exclusive and the value of the properties high. Other areas built plenty of housing, using designs and materials lower in cost. However, their values stayed at a minimum.
The Government put an end to unreasonable zoning laws. If a person owned a plot of land, he or she could sleep on their land, for the most part, regardless of the style of structure.
After zoning laws were limited, the value of previously expensive homes in exclusive neighborhoods dropped, sometimes causing a great deal of anger. Regardless, the majority of citizens knew the policies significantly improved the lives of Americans.
These actions helped lower the overall price of housing. People previously living in places they could barely afford, could move to a similar place at a much lower rate.
These people include the elderly and disabled, who either live on social security or disability, while paying most of their benefits towards rent. They’re the working poor, who often spent most of their income on housing.
The lower housing prices even effected many wealthy citizens positively. Plenty of citizens earning a decent income spend the majority of their income on housing, either by choice or mistake. Regardless of the reasoning, they now could obtain the same quality of housing at a much lower cost.
Other types of human rights issues greatly decreased as well. The days when Americans needed to take extreme measures to expose human rights issues ended.
Situations leading to travesties similar to the travesty Rosa Parks endured were identified and resolved before becoming a travesty. Sit-ins via different groups and colleges became rare. Protests simply weren’t needed as much.
The United States was taking action before human rights issues became issues.
Recycling technologies evolved, simultaneously improving the environment and lowering the cost of materials.
Manufacturing companies were required to obtain materials used to make products from recycled materials, as long as the price of the recycled materials was within 15% of natural mined materials.
In some areas, citizens are required to pay a civil penalty if they don't recycle discarded items. The same was now required of businesses, except when acquiring materials, materials usually obtained from the earth, draining the planet of natural resources.
Previously, companies were taking resources from the earth, then charging the very same people who were born on earth to use those resources.
When the policy was implemented, the value of recyclable materials increased substantially. Citizens instilled much more effort into recycling. As a result, much of the money previously going to corporations was now going directly to the people. At the same time, the earths valuable resources were reserved.
When the resources of an entire country are pooled together and used to fight for good, the possibilities are endless.
Revenue sharing was implemented. Income generated from machines, automated teller machines and robots used to replaced human positions was capped and taxed.
The money generated was substantial. Corporate technology advanced and was widely implemented during previous years.
Stores opened offering only products via large vending machines housing 3D printers. Large touch screen monitors sat just outside the vending machines.
Customers selected an item via the monitor and paid. Then, the 3D printer instantly printed the item selected. A door on the vending machine opened and the customer took their item.
3D printing technology eliminated the need for many employees, warehouse space and store shelf space. Warehouses previously used to store inventory weren’t needed. 3D printing technology saved businesses billions of dollars. Empty warehouses were sold to The People’s Army at bargain prices and turned into housing.
Much of the money taxed was deposited directly into the accounts of the homeless, poor and working poor, without question. If their tax return was legit, a check was deposited into their account.
The Government placed the following ad before depositing checks into the accounts of those living an unsubstantial quality of life.
Life isn’t a game of Monopoly. However, many of the same terms apply. When playing Monopoly, two people usually end up with all the property and money. Two others don’t end up with any property and money.
Life is very similar. If a few are in possession of all the property and money, many are without. Sometimes, it’s the result of luck, very much like Monopoly. Life isn’t a game. All humans deserve decent lives.
Many people simply didn’t have to work anymore. In accordance, plenty of people had a lot of spare time.
With the recruitment of thousands of teachers, The People’s Army leveled the playing field for education. A quality education became available to every single American.
Millions of American citizens who either couldn’t afford a quality education or didn’t have the time, were now armed with the knowledge needed to contribute to technological and medical advances. Education provided citizens with options, giving them the knowhow to improve their lives and the lives of others.
Businesses offered The People’s Army space from their establishments, when not in use, to teach trades or use for storage. Thousands of Libraries volunteered spare rooms, allowing The People’s Army to teach college level courses.
Often, educational courses teach new students the same or very similar material taught to students the previous year. The People’s Army digitized repetitive course materials and taught those courses for free online and at Libraries.
The online courses give students access to private message boards where qualified teachers answer questions posted. Actual teachers from The People’s Army teach classes at Libraries.
In both cases, homework is assigned, and credits are earned when a student passes a course. The credits are equivalent to credits received from accredited public or private collages. Students can transfer them to a college of their choice.
Recreation centers were built in previously unused or abandon buildings. They provide residents with a place to play boardgames, cards games, pool, table tennis, read books, and serve as a place to socialize.
Parks are required to allow citizens access 24/7. The land is owned by the people. At no time, for any reason, is their land off limits.
Food distribution centers were built. Gardens were planted at thousands of locations throughout the country and their crops are offered at food distribution centers.
Lack of employment wasn’t the only consequence of the technological boom. Cybercrimes advanced technologically and increased in numbers.
The country took responsibility for cybersecurity.
Wireless encryption advanced. New encryption technology prevents even the most sophisticated systems from accessing a network, at an affordable cost to the public.
Software makers are now given the opportunity to pass a series of Government tests, in the same way automobiles are given Government safety tests. If their software passes, a certificate is issued, saying the software is safe from hackers.
If the Government determines a program or application isn’t secure, the software company must revise the program or application before a certificate is issued.
Computer hardware was improved as well. Previously, hard drives retained data, even after deletion. Sometimes the data deleted is personal or of confidential corporate documents. Eventually, many hard drives are either sold or discarded, leaving cybercriminals with the opportunity to take advantage of previously stored information. Hard drives, along with their software are now designed to permanently remove data when deleted.
Internet providers are held partially accountable for cybersecurity. Internet providers are now required to work together, letting every citizen know the route and origin of any IP Address sent to their electronic device.
Knowing the origin of IP Addresses helped dwindle many forms of e-mail spoofing, and malware viruses. E-mail recipients know immediately the origin of e-mail’s received. The route is shown in much the same way as driving directions.
The limited number of cybercrimes balanced the scale in favor of authorities, making it easier for them to peruse and apprehend the few cybercriminals still in existence. Most cybercriminal corruption was uncovered and eliminated.
Improved cybersecurity saved citizens millions of dollars previously lost to hackers and fraud.
Most of all, The People’s Army took the lives of the poor very seriously. Even the smallest expenses negatively affect the homeless, poor and working poor. The People’s Army looked at the implication of previous policies, both Government and corporate, resulting in a lower quality of life for the poor. Previously, the majority of payphones were removed from public spaces.
Americans who couldn’t afford cellphone service or a landline, relied on payphones to place emergency, or necessary calls, without having to pay a much higher monthly fee. The monthly fee is in addition to the cost of the cellphone.
To many, the fee is simply another click of the mouse button when they pay bills. To the poor, the fee is a very difficult obstacle to overcome. The removal of payphones placed an unfair financial burden upon their lives. The Government required all phone companies install and maintain a specific number of payphones within their area of business.
Even though the number of poor Americans decreased, the Government still looked at the lack of payphones as a security flaw. During emergency situations, if cellular phone service went down, Americans who only own cellphones couldn’t place emergency phone calls.
The privacy of every American was another area The People’s Army took seriously. During previous generations, if a person made a mistake, their mistake was usually forgiven or forgotten by society within a few months.
Before the digital age, when a person was accused of committing a crime, their accusation and name was probably printed in a local newspaper. Chances are, within a few days, most tossed the paper in the trash without remembering the name of the accused. Innocent or guilty, eventually the accused could move forward with his or her life.
Today, mostly due to the internet and search engines, even the smallest mistake a person makes can haunt them for the rest of their life.
One of the toughest hurdles The People’s Army overcame was figuring out how to protect those who paid their debt to society, without limiting freedom of speech.
If a person or groups use of their freedom effects another person or groups freedom negatively, is the country still a free country for every citizen?
The People’s Army vehemently fights for every citizen. “Leave No Citizen Behind.”
In some instances, freedom of speech greatly limits the freedom of other citizens. Laws were changed to level the playing field, insuring all Americans live in an equally free country.
Criminal laws were intended to hold a person responsible for the crimes they commit. If a person commits a crime, they pay for their crime in accordance with the law. When their debt is paid, they are forgiven, in accordance with the law.
However, in today’s society, and by society, many pay for their crimes with the rest of their life. That wasn’t the intention of the law.
Today, when newspapers print arrest records, those records become digitalized. Sometimes they’re plastered all over the internet, almost like a marketing campaign against the accused.
Companies specializing in personal background information store citizens criminal records. Then, sell their criminal records. These practices make it very difficult for those who paid their debt to society to contribute to society as free individuals.
To prevent these types of practices, the Government eliminated loopholes in the law. When a person finishes paying their debt to society or is deemed not guilty, any, and all documentation of their crime or accusation is erased from public records.
From there, if a paper or website previously printed an arrest record, and versions of the newspaper or website are still circulating, the victim can sue the newspaper or website for deformation of character.
Without public records backing the information printed, courts side with the victim. After losing the first few lawsuits, most papers stopped printing arrest reports and search engines stopped showing the results of those still printing arrest reports.
Credit is now offered equally to all citizens, based only on their income and positive credit history. Finance companies aren’t allowed to request information affecting a person negatively. They could only request documents showing a debt was paid.
If a person doesn’t payback a debt, finance companies either go through the court system to collect the debt or don’t issue any additional debt until the previous balance is paid.
However, unpaid debts are rare. With wealth distribution, unpaid debts dropped steeply. Now, if a person doesn’t repay a debt, the reason usually isn’t because they can’t afford to pay their debt. In those cases the courts take action.
Civil court systems eliminated many formalities, simplifying the system. Banks don’t need to spend years making collection calls and hiring attorneys before filing a civil case.
As soon as a debt becomes past due, banks go online, provide evidence, and file a lawsuit through the local civil courts website within minutes. From there, defendants are given a short time to refute the evidence.
Civil courts base their decision on the information filled electronically. Verdicts are given within weeks.
The same was done for citizens in need of the civil court system. Things like restraining orders and small claim lawsuits were streamlined and now filed from a computer.
Civil laws were also changed. Many civil cases, previously bypassing the criminal justice system, are now tried as criminal cases before going to civil court.
Individuals who were previously allowed to, and could pay their way out of trouble, are now tried as criminals before civil court hearings are permitted.
New regulations require employers to hire employees based on a potential employees accomplishments, not their downfalls. Background checks are limited to a minimal amount of information. Background checks were found to put employees at a disadvantage.
Additionally, noncompete agreements are now limited to one year. A fair and completive marketplace benefits all citizens. “Leave No Citizen Behind.”
The Government has access to a tremendous amount of data. Much of their data, The People’s Army used in multiple ways to improve the country.
The People’s Army coordinated with every employer reporting the hiring of employees to the Government. Together, businesses and The People’s Army implemented a website displaying every job opening reported to the Government.
If the Government showed 200,000 jobs were created during a specific month, all 200,000 of those jobs were previously listed on their website as job openings. Those job openings were available for every single person in the country to apply.
Businesses also benefitted from the employment website. Due to the website, businesses don’t have to spend as much money advertising open positions.
The Government regulated employers audio and video surveillance for authenticity. Larger companies owned custom programed video surveillance systems. They possessed the technology to alter video footage without any sign the video was altered, even to experts.
Employer owned video surveillance systems are now encoded, and their video files are stored as a specific Government issued file format. Editing employer owned video footage is difficult, if possible at all.
Citizens and employees are given the opportunity to purchase DVDs of footage recorded by business’s in public areas. The DVD’s are sold in eight hour intervals, per camera, at a dollar each.
Limits were placed in regards to the number of DVD’s a person could purchase to prevent stalkers and things of that nature. The person purchasing the DVD must be in the footage or provide a reasonable explanation for the purchase.
Employees could view surveillance footage from nonpublic areas for any reason, within reason, and are allowed to have an attorney present. However, employees can’t obtain copies of the footage, except for legal disputes.
In the view of a jury, sometimes individuals have a difficult time proving either themselves innocent or another guilty, especially without video evidence. These regulations help employees and citizens defend themselves during legal disputes.
The People’s Army spoke out against companies using immoral practices. They ran marketing campaigns in much the same way the “Just say no to drugs” marking campaign was used in the 1980’s.
The People’s Army paid thousands of dollars for advertising campaigns, explaining the dangers of internet marketing tracking techniques. Catchy campaigns were used, while offering informative information.
An ad showed a parade of cars following a shopper from store to store. Then the slogan, “This is what happens when you’re shopping on the internet.”
The People’s Army didn’t just publicize issues. They offered solutions. Following the slogan, a list was displayed showing companies who’s websites didn’t use tracking cookies to track internet users outside of their own website.
The ad finished with the following saying, “We take the privacy of all Americans seriously, The United States of America.”
The Terms of Service agreements used by many ecommerce companies was another area where stricter regulations were implemented. Often, internet companies require customers to agree with difficult to understand, multiple page TOS.
Brick and mortar stores have been in business since the 1800’s, without asking customers to sign multiple page documents. Courts found the use of multipage TOS agreements used by ecommerce companies as unreasonable.
A sophisticated economic computer simulation program was created specifically to emulate the U.S. economy. The simulation worked in much the same way flight simulator computer games emulate flying. However, the simulation provides results from data input.
Financial data accumulated from all parts of the world was input. The computers running the simulation are the most advanced in the world, possessing the ability to calculate trillions of bits of data within seconds.
The simulation outputs data regarding financial policies. The results are simplified, yet look at, and offer thousands of variables depending on any given financial situation. The results show how different financial policies effect the country. The Government uses those results to determine how to distribute money efficiently to benefit all citizens.
Before the Government implements a new financial policy, they already understand the most likely results.
The economy boomed in ways most couldn’t imagine. Within years, millions of people didn’t need to work. These were people of all ages. Many elderly workers retired early and cashed out their retirement plan. Their money added to the economic boom.
When a person knows they’re guaranteed a check, then another the next month, and another after that, so on and so forth, financial stability has been achieved. The cost of living in the U.S. was lowered significantly. Citizens didn’t need to save as much of their income.
The money citizens previously saved was often spent to improve their current quality of life. Trillions of dollars entered the economy. Many people invested spare time in education. Others used spare time to spend with family and friends, go to parks, travel or stay in shape.
Even though the U.S. workforce shrunk, jobs were available. Plenty of people chose to work. Many took advantage of the lower cost of education to obtain a career in a field of their choosing.
At the same time, many citizens felt a void.
The People’s Army planned for that as well. Part of their plan to build the infrastructure of the country included the creation of two new sports, sporting events and a massive set of arenas to house the sports.
The arenas were built in a very large, uninhabited area in the center of the U.S.. Surrounding the arenas, an entire city was built. The city was designed and built in much the same way Times Square was built for New York. Except the city was built for the whole country.
Eight ultramodern highspeed trainlines were built to take American’s from all parts of the country, to and from the arena’s. The city itself was designed with the latest technological innovation.
States became mostly geographical locations instead of their own entities. The country became whole, as originally intended. One nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all.
These changes put America on a course to not only become the greatest country in the world, the greatest country in the history of the world.
The People’s Army added value to the country in much the same way a person adds value to their house by adding a garage. Though, the real value wasn’t monetary or material. The real value was with the improvement of the lives of American citizens.
Wealth distribution almost instantly improved the lives of the homeless, poor and working poor. Crime rates dropped. When people have food, affordable housing and something interesting to do with their time, they’re less likely to commit crimes.
The People’s Army implemented a tremendous amount of change within a short period of time. Even though the projects were meticulously planned, they still came with plenty of kinks and controversy. Some areas, companies and fields of business lost out on billions of dollars. Those entities raised their share of havoc.
The People’s Army worked through the issues. Most people started believing in a country previously sustaining years of regression.
The People’s Army gave Americans options they never experienced before, and Americans were making the most of those options.
Additional Notes
Internet providers are held partially accountable for cybersecurity. Internet providers are now required to work together, letting every citizen know the route and origin of any IP Address sent to their electronic device.
Knowing the origin of IP Addresses helped dwindle many forms of e-mail spoofing, and malware viruses. E-mail recipients know, immediately, the origin of e-mail’s received. The route is shown in much the same way as driving directions.
Sometimes my current situation affects what I write. At the time I wrote the above, I was receiving a lot of spam mail. I was only thinking of different ways to stop receiving spam mail. Obviously, there are privacy concerns for those who are not sending spam mail, privacy concerns I possess myself.
Keywords: Light Throughout The Night, Chapter 4 The People’s Army, Equality, Wealth Inequality, Quality Of Life, Fiction, Book, Homeless, Poor, Working Poor, Human Rights, Revenue Sharing, Wealth Distribution, Economy, Economic Boom, Cybercrime, Economic Computer Simulation, LTTN
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