Ross "Rocky" Anderson, who came in second during the recent election to congress, spoke to Humanists of Utah monthly meeting in December. Here is a summary of his remarks:

Our community, like most throughout this country, has several easily identifiable social problems:

• We have far too many homeless, with politicians who engage in demagoguery about "family values" letting the poor die on our streets from exposure to the cold. Many of the homeless are mentally ill and are provided no treatment whatsoever. And all the while, the wealthiest in this country receive housing subsidies in the form of mortgage interest deductions, even for their vacation homes!
• We have an increase in violent crime, with little being done to stop gang violence or the ready access to handguns and assault weapons. Between 1980 and 1990, there was a 79% increase in the number of 10 to 17-year-olds who used firearms to commit murder.
• There are too many who have no access to preventive health care, and who end up in expensive emergency care with acute medical problems. We remain the only major Western nation without a national health insurance program or a system of family health care allowance.
• Although we have the most expensive health care system in the world, we rank 17th among Western nations in infant mortality. The rate of infant mortality for African-Americans is more than twice the rate for whites and is similar to that of the Third World.
• Our air is polluted, leading to increased incidence of respiratory illnesses on the Wasatch Front. Yet politicians like Jim Hansen plead the case of the polluters, arguing that, because of our unique geography, EPA requirements should be relaxed.
• We have an increasing incarceration rate, with politicians clamoring for millions more to be spent on jail and prison facilities. Nationally, we have more than 1 million people behind bars, with the world's highest incarceration rate, at a cost of $30,000-$45,000 per inmate each year.
• Young people in our community are abusing drugs at an alarming rate, many of them turning to heroin or crack cocaine as their drugs of choice.
• We have very few low income housing units available, with the U.S. Congress apparently oblivious to the problem because it has repealed the low income housing tax credit program, a very successful public-private program resulting in over 800,000 units of low-cost housing being built in the past 10 years.
• The rich are getting richer and the poor are indeed getting much poorer. The gap between the rich and everyone else has never been greater. While the richest 20% have improved their economic lot dramatically during the past 20 years, the other 80% have fallen behind, even while our economy has improved.

There are other social problems that we don't talk about much. Problems like apathy, incivility, greed and an absence of empathy for others. In my view, these are social problems in and of themselves, as well as causes of other social problems.

So, what suggestions do I have for solving these social problems? Several years ago, I drove past a Baptist Church in South Carolina and saw posted in front of the church, "He didn't call them the Ten Suggestions." Since this is a meeting of humanists, let me offer my "Ten Suggestions" for solving some of our social problems (although, of course there are countless other things that we must attend to!)

1. Face the fact that we are in the midst of global environmental crises, particularly global warming and ozone destruction from the burning of fossil fuels and the destruction of our forests. We must educate ourselves and others about these problems and take decisive steps to reverse the damage we have done-and continue to do-to our Earth.
2. Balance the budget by (1) cutting out $150 billion in corporate welfare; (2) reducing waste in defense spending; and (3) fixing Medicare and Social Security. We now spend over 15% of our federal budget on interest on the debt-more than we spend on education, housing assistance, veterans' benefits, law enforcement, transportation, national parks, space and science and health research combined.
3. Shift resources from our failed war-on-drugs interdiction efforts to education and treatment programs.
4. Provide equal educational opportunities-in terms of quality. We know that the cognitive development during the first 4 years of life is determinative of what can be accomplished thereafter. Its high time we act on that knowledge by providing good preschool programs so children are truly capable of obtaining an excellent education.
5. Stop building prisons. Implement restorative justice programs, which are aimed at restoring the community, victims and offenders. Place nonviolent offenders in community programs, with requirements that they work, support their families, pay restitution and contribute to their own room and board.
6. Provide affordable, effective family planning services to everyone. Our goal should be no unwanted children. And remember, high school dropouts are 6 times as likely to be unwed parents as graduates.
7. Make joint custody after divorce the rule rather than the exception. Far too many children are adversely impacted their entire lives because of the essential loss of their father after divorce.
8. Face up to the waste in our medical insurance system and save the billions of health care dollars siphoned off by insurance companies. Essential medical services should be a right of all Americans.
9. Remove the corrupting influence of money from our political system. We should set campaign spending limits, eliminate PAC contributions, eliminate "soft" money corporate contributions to political parties, and require access to free and equal time on television and radio for candidates.
10. Finally, we must teach our children well. We must give more than lip service to the notion that integrity, service to our community, and empathy for others are the true measures of success in life.

Humanists of Utah was proud to host Mr. Anderson's first public address since the election.

--Wayne Wilson