A Statement of Beliefs, and Purposes of the Movement

Another goody from my grandparents' files.  I searched for a version of this online, and, finding none, have transcribed it because I thought it good.

I BELIEVE:

• that the problems of poverty, hunger, illness and illiteracy have reached such proportions that they can no longer be neglected, and that they demand immediate, vigorous and adequate solutions;

• that the rising levels of joblessness and homelessness can only be reduced through systematic adjustments that foster reversal of the widening economic gap between rich and poor;

• that an adequate level of economic and social well-being must become more widespread if the political freedoms essential for a peaceful world are to be achieved and maintained;

• that this requires that access to the wealth of the land, the oceans and other natural resources be made available to all on a basis of fairness and equity;

• that the essential pre-requisite to solving these problems with justice for all is to relieve labor, industry and consumers of the onerous taxes they now bear;

• and that this can best be done by raising revenue for public purposes from those values that are created by the public itself, namely, the economic values of land and other natural resources, which now flow as unearned income to those corporations and individuals who happen to hold title to them.

 

PURPOSES OF THE MOVEMENT

1. To fund public services from publicly-created land-value revenues, instead of from privately-created wealth, such as homes and other man-made structures;
2. To stimulate the general economy by lessening the need for income, sales and other kinds of taxes;
3. To encourage private construction of low-cost housing, industrial plants and other needed facilities by reducing taxes usually levied against buildings of all kinds;
4. To encourage proper maintenance of all structures by reducing the tax "penalty" usually incurred whenever major repairs or improvements are made;
5. To discourage land speculation, which drives up both land prices and rents, resulting in increased levels of tenancy and homelessness;
6. To reduce urban sprawl and the mounting pressures to convert nearby agricultural land to residential, commercial and industrial uses;
7. To strengthen political freedom by enabling more people to share in the economic and social benefits of owning one's own home and/or workplace; and
8. To reduce the risk of global war by promoting a widely-recognized remedy for a primary cause of conflict within and between nations.