Land, water, oil, air ... none of it is of our creation, and all of us depend on access to them. If dollars are involved, to whom should they flow, and why? If royalties are due, who is entitled to them? If rent happens, as it does in any place where there is a scarcity, who is entitled to it?
Is it the fellow whose land is in high demand? Is it the fellow whose land has valuable minerals in it? Is it the fellow whose property is on a great aquifer? Is it the great-great-grandchild of the Duke of Westminster, or of the first Caucasian settlers on a particular piece of land, or of someone to whom they sold title? LVTfan says not.
All of us need land, be it the 500 square feet under our studio apartment in an urban highrise (shared with the other 30 or 40 people who live in that particular vertical column) or an acre on which to raise food for ourselves and our family, or more acreage to raise food to sell to others.
All of us need water, be it just enough to drink, feed and cleanse ourselves, our food, our clothes, and to dispose of our waste. Some of us rely on access to a lot more, to feed crops, animals, lawns, etc.
Most of us rely on oil, as homeowners in the northeast, as car owners, as passengers on airplanes or other public transportation. We may use only a small amount, if we travel heavily used public transportation, or travel short distances in a fuel-efficient vehicle, have a small, well-insulated home. We may use large quantities, if we have a long commute, a home with old insulation and other technologies, a large home, a weekend home a few hundred miles away, a gas-guzzling vehicle. Our food may come from close by, or we may fancy off-season fruits and vegetables that travel halfway around the globe.
None of us can create land, or water, or oil. We are dependent on the existing supply. None of us is more entitled to land, water or oil than anyone else, or to be able to privatize its economic value as if we -- or our particular ancestors -- were somehow involved in its creation. And yet our current system operates precisely as if that were the case.
Back to the initial question: Who is entitled to the rent, the royalties? WE ALL ARE. It is the legitimate way to finance our common spending. That value should not accumulate in private pockets, or corporate pockets, or trusts, or pension funds, or philanthropies or university endowments or hedge funds or any other non-public entity's portfolio.
Consider the effects of socializing the economic value of these common assets. Think about the effects on wealth concentration. Think about the effects on sprawl. Think about the effects on the boom-bust cycle. Think about the effects on job creation. Think about the effects on wages.
Think about the effects on justice.
Why would you not favor this reform?
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