Proposition America: Pay for What You Get and Get What You Pay
For
Frank F. Bille
[A book self-published by the author, 1982 -- Part 3
of 3]
PROPOSITION AMERICA
PAY FOR WHAT YOU GET AND GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR
Outline of procedure for transforming the American Economy from a
state of imbalance to a state of balance pending the approval of the
American People and its Representatives in the Congress of The United
States of America.
A. PROPOSED CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
- Definition of Property Rights according to the Positive
Economic Principle to be included in the Constitution.
- An unequivocal statement to the effect that all natural
resources are the property of the Great Landlord, God.
- A "Manifesto of Liberty" to the effect that each
individual as His tenant has been granted, by the Great Landlord,
an equal right to live on this earth by applying one's labor,
directly or indirectly, to the natural resources of the earth,
without having to pay another for that right, and that, therefore,
each holder of land (any form of natural resource) owes the
unearned profit therefrom (land rent) to the community whose true
property it is, and that this common property constitutes the
people's God-given equal inheritance, from which all common
(public) expenses may be disbursed, the surplus to be distributed
equally to all citizens. Taxation of the products of human labor
to be discontinued as the Ground Duty comes into effect. Local
governments (cities, counties) to be the repositories of the power
to administer the people's equal inheritance and the revenue
therefrom.
- A definition of "Money" according to the Positive
Economic Principle: Money is the forever circulating evidence of
an interest-free credit given and a forever un-fulfilled promise
received by an endless succession of people who successively
receive fulfillment while passing on the forever unfulfilled
promise evidenced by money.
- The American Nation is the true owner of the money at the point
of issue, in whatever form. The Nation has granted to the
government of The United States, interest free, the right and duty
to issue money as dollars, in the form of coins and of United
States Notes, in all denominations deemed necessary. The dollar is
the Standard Unit of Value when issued and circulated in the
amount of (for instance 4000) dollars per inhabitant as verified
by the national census. It is unlawful to either decrease or
increase the amount of dollars in circulation relative to the
census figure, except by act of Congress.
National Justice as executed by all levels of government is the
Standard of Value governing the value of the dollar.
Monetization of debt to be expressly prohibited.
B. ESTABLISHING A SOUND MONETARY SYSTEM BASED ON THE POSITIVE
ECONOMIC PRINCIPLE with ELIMINATION OF THE NATIONAL DEBT
- Federal Reserve Notes to be withdrawn from circulation and
UNITED STATES NOTES to be SUBSTITUTED dollar for dollar.
The UNITED STATES NOTES would be printed and OWNED by the
government. The notes would be EVIDENCES of the TRUE CREDIT which
the people are giving, interest-free, to the U. S. government.
The Treasury would then receive IN EXCHANGE for the U. S. Notes,
all the existing Federal Reserve Notes. These notes are actually
evidences of a debt which the FED owes to the Treasury.
Then the Treasury will BUY back from the FED an amount of
government BONDS equal to the -total amount of Federal Reserve
Notes which will be used as payment for these bonds. The notes
will then, as WORTHLESS, be cancelled and destroyed by the FED,
and the bonds, as REDEEMED, will be cancelled and destroyed by the
Treasury.
The UNITED STATES NOTES, which would then be circulating and
OWNED by the individuals at all times, should be imprinted with
the true definition of money also appearing in the amended
Constitution. If that knowledge had been a public possession the
Money Monopoly could not have existed, and there would have been
NO NATIONAL DEBT.
THEN we may also, without blasphemy, print on the U. S. Notes the
famous words: IN GOD WE TRUST.
- ONE HUNDRED PERCENT (100%) RESERVES in the form of UNITED
STATES NOTES to be required for all DEMAND DEPOSITS in banks.
REDUCTION OF PRIVATE DEBTS.
This reform would make it IMPOSSIBLE for banks to CREATE
fictitious money in the form of BANK CREDIT which become
FICTITIOUS DEPOSITS.
IN ADDITION to the U. S. Notes put into circulation under point
1, the Treasury would print an amount of U. S. Notes equal to the
TOTAL a-mount of FICTITIOUS BANK CREDIT in existence.
This amount of U. S. Notes is actually the property of the
American People because the fictitious accounts represent a
NONETIZATION of the people's interest-free credit which the
government has surrendered to the banks in violation of the
people's trust. The people have a right to get it back. Therefore
the whole amount of U. S. Notes equal to the fictitious accounts
should be PAID OUT in equal amounts to every man, woman and child.
With this money the people could PAY OFF much of their DEBTS to
the banking system, and the banks could use the money to fulfill
the 100% RESERVE REQUIREMENT.
This action would NOT be inflationary. For every dollar in
debt-free U. S. Notes put into circulation, one dollar in
interest-bearing, debt-created, fictitious money would be taken
out of circulation.
TIME DEPOSITS (savings accounts, certificates), which represent
INVESTMENTS and are NOT subject to withdrawal without certain
notice need not be subject to reserve requirements in the form of
U.S. Notes, but such accounts should be kept strictly SEPARATED
from demand deposits. Time deposits EARN AN INTEREST, demand
deposits do not.
To facilitate the necessary EXPANSION of the money supply which
must follow the INCREASE IN POPULATION and, for the time being,
the still existing LAND MONOPOLY, the U. S. Treasury may issue and
spend an amount of dollars IN EXCESS of the amount justified by
the growth of population. This extra amount of money will, as it
comes into the possession of the people, be used for the financing
of LAND PURCHASES. Thus the INFLATION will continue until FULL
JUSTICE is established, but the Federal Government, not the banks,
will reap much of the unearned profits from land. TAXES can be cut
considerably.
Perhaps it would be possible to regulate the issuance of United
States Notes under these conditions by maintaining a steady level
of INTEREST RATES, for instance 5% to 6% p. a. But until the LAND
MONOPOLY is also eliminated, a rather high rate of inflation is
likely to persist.
In that INTERIM it would be highly desirable to reform the
PROPERTY TAX so that ONLY LAND VALUES are taxed, while all
improvements are tax free. That would dampen the inflation.
- LIQUIDATION OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM AND COMPLETE
ELIMINATION OF THE NATIONAL DEBT
The Federal Reserve Banks were established by an act of Congress
and can, consequently, be liquidated by an act of Congress. Though
the name implies it, the FED is NOT government property, not
subject to the will of Congress, not directed by the Secretary of
the Treasury, and has, at least till recently, successfully
resisted the scrutiny and audits by the General Accounting Office
to which all government agencies must normally submit.
If Congress should decide to liquidate or dissolve any or all of
the twelve Federal Reserve Banks, any surplus remaining after
payment of all debts, dividends and the par value of its capital
stock becomes the property of the United States Government.
Whether or not the Congress does that, the demise of the FED will
become a fact when, in addition to the 100% reserve requirement of
the member banks, the following necessary steps are taken:
3(a) REPUDIATION (cancellation) of the U. S.
Government bonds still in the possession of the FED, WITHOUT
COMPENSATION.
No injustice is done in repudiating these bonds. They are, in
fact, a fictitious debt. They cause the government to pay
interest for the use of the nation's own money.
3(b) REPUDIATION (cancellation) of U. S. Government bonds held
by the commercial banks and by the public, against EQUALIZATION
(partial but equal compensation). See Article E. Equalization of
nominal losses.
The government bonds are a part of the FALSE CAPITAL which is
to be ELIMINATED, the nominal losses to be equalized. The
savings to the taxpayers will be in excess of one hundred
billion dollars a year.
3(c) The FED's function as "The Bankers' Bank" is
ended when the power to create fictitious money against
fictitious debt is ended by the 100% reserve requirement. Its
purpose "to create an elastic currency" is no longer
relevant.
3(d) The FED's function as the government's FISCAL AGENT to be
terminated.
There is no reason why the Treasury cannot deal directly with the
commercial banks, or with the GIRO SYSTEM mentioned below.
Besides, government finances will be VASTLY SIMPLIFIED when the
full scope of PROPOSITION AMERICA is in effect.
- Establishment of a centralized, computerized public DEPOSIT AND
EXCHANGE SERVICE, handled by the Postal Service.
Such systems, called GIRO SYSTEMS, are widely used in Europe,
especially in the Scandinavian countries. In Denmark about 90% of
all money transactions are handled by the Giro System, and banks
are much less prominent in that country.
Such systems are capable of handling, under one roof, ALL
TRANSFERS of deposits from one account to another, for a region
such as all of Southern California with more than ten million
people and with several million accounts between them.
This system should, of course, be subject to the 100% reserve
requirement. Nobody can borrow from the Giro System.
The 100% reserve requirement means that the money you have
deposited on a checking account in a bank, or in a GIRO account,
belongs SOLELY TO YOU, cannot be invested and therefore cannot
earn an interest. Therefore, the bank MUST charge you a SERVICE
CHARGE so the bank can stay in business, and so must the GIRO
SYSTEM. But then the TRUE COST of our fantastically complicated,
overgrown and inefficient banking system will become apparent, for
the banks will not be able to compete with the extremely
efficient, centralized GIRO SYSTEM. Every businessman, and most
private citizens, will have a GIRO account with a number assigned.
If a businessman wants to pay 100 different bills in one day, all
he has to do is sign 100 GIRO-CARDS furnished by the 100
creditors, already prepared with their account numbers and the
amounts owed them. Then he adds them up on a tape, writes the
TOTAL on one GIRO CHECK, and mails the whole bundle IN ONE
ENVELOPE to the GIRO CENTER, where the total is immediately
charged to his account and all the 100 payments electronically
credited to the 100 account holders, in a matter of seconds. Next
day everybody receives in the mail a new and current balance
sheet. Well, if the banks can consolidate in this fashion, fine.
But if not, the Postal Service can do it, with the Post Offices
serving the public. In any case it is a matter of PUBLIC SERVICE
subject to the strictest possible AUDIT.
- Establishment of a POPULATION/JUSTICE STANDARD
This final act cannot be carried out until the complete
transition is accomplished. When both the Land Monopoly and the
Money Monopoly are eliminated we will finally have established
ECONOMIC BALANCE. A STANDARD UNIT OF VALUE can then be established
by regulating the total money supply in exact numerical proportion
to the population. We will then have a POPULATION/JUSTICE
STANDARD, for economic balance is JUSTICE, and each dollar in
existence will represent an unchanging fraction of the VALUE
inherent in people.
It will then no longer be necessary to regulate the money supply
by maintaining a steady interest rate as proposed in point 2 which
was a temporary measure.
The law of Supply and Demand will thereafter determine the rate
of INTEREST. Since this will be a TRUE interest, and since true
interest is a form of WAGES earned by CAPITAL, (which is labor "stored
up"), interest rates will be high if wages are high, and vice
versa. The present rate of interest is high because most of what
is called "interest" is actually LAND RENT, and land
rent is high. Therefore, it is now unprofitable to borrow money
for constructive purposes, the interest charges being out of
proportion to the real wages that can be earned.
Our money supply will remain the same PER PERSON, in good times
and in bad times, for every dollar will have a true OWNER. It will
be a RIGID SYSTEM in contrast to the debt-monetization system
which is perversely elastic. The PERVERSITY is a fact acknowledged
by bankers who know and fear the snowballing effect of diminishing
reserves taking place when too many people withdraw their deposits
at the same time. Therefore, our monetary system must be carefully
"managed" to avoid such calamities. But under the
POPULATION/JUSTICE STANDARD you and I manage our own money, and
the only government control of our money is the annual regulation
of the money supply according to the census figure.
Our elastic money supply is always unbalanced, always heading for
either inflation or deflation, "boom" conditions or "bust"
conditions ruinous to the country in either case. That is because
bank credit is a form of money which has no owner.
Of course, some degree of ELASTICITY is desirable since the need
for money may fluctuate with the seasons, especially in
agriculture. However, the RIGID SYSTEM is naturally elastic enough
to meet all normal fluctuations.
Changing INTEREST RATES will speed up or slow down the flow of
money, but the greatest degree of elasticity is provided by the
use of regular customer CREDIT. Consumers and merchants can, by
their actions, temporarily expand and contract the overall
available buying power. It depends on whether consumers earn
before spending or spend before earning, and on the degree to
which they do either. The creditgiving by merchants is naturally
elastic. This is TRUE CREDIT which is an extension of the true
credit evidenced by money.
PRICES will be stable or falling under a Population/Justice
Standard, reflecting the ever higher PRODUCTIVITY of labor. WAGES
will tend to remain stable because the dollar reflects the
unchanging inherent VALUE of man.
INFLATION or DEFLATION will be a thing of the past. On the
international MONEY MARKET, the sound dollar will continuously
rise in value relative to unsound foreign currencies.
Do we need a "Gold Standard"?
Those who are advocating a return to the GOLD STANDARD are actually
believing in MONETIZATION OF DEBT, for they do not mean that the
yellow metal should be our circulating medium. They mean that paper
money should be GOLD CERTIFICATES "redeemable" on demand,
even though only a FRACTION of the certificates would be represented
by an actually existing "gold backing."
Having a "Gold Standard" means fixing the PRICE of GOLD at
a certain amount of dollars per ounce, and to DEFINE the dollar as
being for instance 1/500 of an ounce of fine gold. The old definition,
abandoned years ago, was 1/35 of an ounce.
It is imagined that INFLATION can be prohibited by a law which
forbids expansion of the money supply beyond a certain MULTIPLE of
gold stock held by banks, for instance twenty-five to one. That is
still monetization of fictitious debt or "fractional reserve
banking" and a terrible confusion of facts. It is still a
monopolization of the interest-free credit given by the people. The
money supply cannot change unless the a-mount of gold changes. If gold
is deposited in banks, the money supply can be expanded
twenty-five-fold. If it is withdrawn the opposite occurs. If there is
a shortage of money because of this we have depression, and if there
is too much money we have inflation.
INFLATION of the money supply is caused by monetization of fictitious
DEBT, with or without "gold backing" and fictitious debt is
caused by ECONOMIC IMBALANCE. Economic imbalance is caused by
monopolies which force people to pay an ever increasing RANSOM for the
right to exist on this earth.
Under a POPULATION/JUSTICE STANDARD the gold-worshippers would be
free to use the precious metals, gold and silver, to their hearts'
content. They could mint gold and silver COINS as long as they would
abstain from giving them fixed values in terms of dollars. The coins
should be stamped with the exact WEIGHT in milligrams of fine gold.
Then let the MARKET determine the price of the coins! If the new "fiat"
money (that's what the gold-worshippers would call the U. S. Notes)
should fail, as they would expect, the gold coins would rise in value,
and the gold-worshippers would then have their reward. In fact, if
these well meaning Patriots really do believe in a gold standard, all
they would have to do were to mint such coins, and we would have a
perfect gold standard. At the slightest hint that the UNITED STATES
NOTES were in trouble, people would begin to buy gold and silver coins
and insist on being paid in gold or silver. The only discomfort the
gold-worshippers would suffer from this arrangement would be the fact
that they could not balloon fictitious credit on top of the metal.
They could not MONOPOLIZE money! Everybody who had gold or silver
could go and have it minted, and WHY NOT !
However, gold is, according to David, less desirable than JUSTICE:
"The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever:
the JUDGMENTS of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to
be desired are they THAN GOLD, yea than much fine gold: sweeter also
than honey and the honeycomb." (Psalms 19:9-10)
When people see the buying power of the UNITED STATES NOTES increase,
i.e. when they see the price of automobiles and all other manufactured
items coming down while wages remain stable or rising, they will
forget about gold and silver money and begin buying gold and silver
jewelry, conductors and many other items in which the precious metals
have a useful or at least desirable function.
C. ESTABLISHING A SOUND SYSTEM OF PUBLIC REVENUE BASED ON THE
POSITIVE ECONOMIC PRINCIPLE
- A nationwide VALUATION of all LAND not in the public domain.
The valuation should state the present FULL MARKET VALUE of the
land alone, excluding all improvements.
- A GROUND DUTY equivalent to the full annual LAND RENT to be
LEVIED against ALL LAND not in the public domain.
THEORETICALLY, the annual GROUND DUTY is equal to the interest of the
valuation price at the prevailing rate of interest PLUS the a-mount of
PROPERTY TAX presently being paid on the land value alone. HOWEVER,
due to the reform itself there may be strong FLUCTUATIONS in land
values, both upwards and downwards.
The UPWARD TREND will be due to the termination of all taxes on the
products of human labor.
The DOWNWARD TREND will be due to the fact that all suitable vacant
or underdeveloped land now held for speculation will be made available
WITHOUT A PRICE. Though the land is VALUABLE, the PRICE will be ZERO
because the unearned income from the land can no longer be retained by
the owner and capitalized as a price.
The GROUND DUTY is REGULATED annually till the full impact of the
reform has manifested itself in land values. Then less frequently.
Regulation UPWARDS will be necessary when it becomes apparent that
land is unavailable except on payment of a premium, or extra amount in
excess of the value of the improvements. Regulation DOWNWARDS will be
necessary when improvements cannot be sold except at a loss, or when
the land does not attract prospective USERS.
The GROUND DUTY is the property of the people and entrusted to the
local governments which collect and administer the funds.
State and National governments should partake of the Ground Duty
collected by local governments, with certain percentages. This will be
the natural form of "revenue sharing."
All public expenses should be paid out of the Ground Duty Fund.
The SURPLUS, if any, should be paid to the people as a DIVIDEND.
D. TERMINATION OF ALL TAXES ON PRODUCTS OF HUMAN LABOR AND
LIMITATION OF GOVERNMENT POWERS AND ACTIVITIES
Taxation is an act governed by the NEGATIVE ECONOMIC PRINCIPLE. It is
LEGAL STEALING. It has no scientific justification.
The sooner we abolish taxation of the products of labor, the sooner
will the GROUND DUTY swell to proportions sufficient for payment of
all JUST public expenses. No source of revenue, good or bad, will ever
be able to pay all the UNJUST public expenses in which we indulge
today.
It is the duty of all governments to PRESERVE JUSTICE BY PREVENTING
INJUSTICE. The necessary PUBLIC WORKS are also the responsibility of
the governments. What is beyond these two functions is to be
ELIMINATED.
We could and should ABOLISH all government programs of SUBSIDIZATION
such as Foreign Aid, Farm Price Support, Department of Education;
Housing and Urban Renewal, Community Redevelopment Agencies, Food
Stamps, Unemployment Compensation, Welfare Programs, Social Security,
etc. These programs could be phased out in an orderly fashion as soon
as the ECONOMIC BALANCE of the nation makes it possible. When the two
big monopolies are no longer being subsidized by us, We the People
need no subsidies either. We can, at the local level, take care of our
sick and poor, privately or through charitable groups.
The government will save huge amounts of money when they get out of
all business which could be done as well or better by the PRIVATE
SECTOR. The sale of numerous government enterprises which compete with
private enterprise would bring in a considerable sum.
The ADMINISTRATION of JUSTICE by PREVENTING INJUSTICE requires much
less bureaucracy than the administration of injustice.
There will be hundreds of thousands of government employees who will
no longer be needed as such. But they will be needed in private
productive industry and business where employment opportunities will
be practically unlimited.
Instead of dreaming up new expensive legislation every year, the job
of legislators will be, for some time, to rescind, undo and terminate
the bad, socialistic legislation in which they have been so furiously
engaged the last three quarters of a century.
Legislation, law enforcement, court proceedings, defense and public
works for the benefit of all will be amply financed from the two
sources of public revenue, GROUND DUTY and MONETIZATION OF THE
NATION'S INTEREST-FREE CREDIT.
HOWEVER, after elimination of all the functions which are not
properly government functions we can ADD one function which
governments do not have today. That is the function of COMPENSATION
for losses sustained by citizens due to no fault of their own. This
is, of course, now the function of insurance companies.
As described in an earlier chapter, THE GROUND DUTY INSURANCE is a
proper government function which can be done much more effectively and
economically because the servicing of CLAIMS is the only function
necessary. The GROUND DUTY is the PREMIUM, and ALL the people are
AUTOMATICALLY COVERED.
The SURPLUS of the well run governments belongs to the people and
should be paid out in equal amounts as a DIVIDEND.
E. EQUALIZATION OF NOMINAL LOSSES INFLICTED UPON OWNERS OF LAND
AND OWNERS OF CANCELLED GOVERNMENT BONDS
When the United States Government Bonds are repudiated, and when
GROUND DUTY is taking away the unearned income from land, the owners
of these assets suffer a financial LOSS which should not be borne by
the owners alone. They have paid for these assets out of their
(perhaps) hard earned and, at any rate, legally justified incomes.
They have, in most cases, incurred DEBTS and signed MORTGAGES securing
their creditors' claims. The creditors are also subject to losses when
their COLLATERALS vanish.
The FALSE CAPITAL which is being eliminated is the works of the false
god MAMMON. We are all, unwittingly, the servants of Mammon and should
all be more than willing to relinquish that servitude when the
realities thereof dawn on us.
It seems right and just that we should all partake of the NOMINAL
LOSSES when the false capital is being eliminated, in proportion to
our individual NET WORTH.
A few examples will illustrate the necessity and the rightfulness of
an EQUALIZATION, i.e. a procedure by which the loss of false capital
assets is distributed EQUALLY on all citizens.
Take for instance a land speculator who all his life has done nothing
but deal in land but, at age 65, sells all his land and invests his
million dollars in stocks and bonds.
Then there is the working man who all his life has worked hard and
saved one hundred thousand dollars which he invests in vacant land.
And, further, a young farmer who has just bought a hundred and sixty
acres of choice farmland for half a million dollars and incurred a
mortgage debt of four hundred thousand dollars.
Finally, the financial institution which has extended loans against
security in real estate. Suppose that the land values alone account
for one hundred million dollars of that institution's mortgage
portfolio.
Then suppose that, all of a sudden, the country is persuaded to
collect the full LAND RENT for a public revenue (in this example we
disregard the money reform). What happens in the four examples if no
equalization is done?
The land speculator turned investor loses nothing.
The working man turned speculator loses everything.
The farmer loses half a million dollars and must still pay off his
four hundred thousand dollar loan with interest.
The financial institution still has claims of one hundred million
dollars in capitalized LAND RENT, which are un-collectible.
Obviously, that wouldn't work.
But an EQUALIZATION would work!
The steps in the equalization process could be as follows:
Every owner of real estate, U.S. bonds, money and wealth of any kind
makes a VALUATION of all his ASSETS and all his LIABILITIES,
specifying each category on computer forms.
The ASSETS are divided into five main categories:
- Tangible Wealth
- Intangible Wealth
- Money
- Land Values
- U. S. Bonds
Tangible Wealth is all physically appearing articles of wealth such
as buildings, machines, automobiles, ships, furnishings, art objects,
food, livestock, etc.
Intangible Wealth is all valuable documents such as stocks, bonds,
promissory notes, accounts receivable, savings accounts, certificates
of deposit, trust deeds, cash values of life insurance, etc.
Money is cash on hand, un-cashed checks and demand deposits in banks.
Land Values is the value of land exclusive of all improvements, as
valued by the county assessor and agreed upon by the owner.
U. S. Bonds are all such bonds which have been repudiated in the
money reform, to be listed at latest current market value.
The LIABILITIES are:
Accounts payable, the stock capital of corporations, bonded debts,
bank loans, notes given, insurance companies' obligations, the banks'
debts on time deposits, etc.
The liabilities of U. S. Government are all such liabilities which
have not been repudiated. The outstanding amount of UNITED STATES
NOTES is a liability. Trust funds such as the Social Security Fund are
liabilities to the government and assets to the individual owners who,
if possible, should be notified so that the assets could be listed as
such by the owners.
All government units, local, state and national, participate fully in
the equalization along with all corporations, firms and individuals.
ASSETS minus LIABILITIES equals NET WORTH.
Theoretically, the total liabilities of all Jubilee accounts should
match the total Intangible Wealth listed by all Jubilee accounts. The
total of money listed as assets in people's possession should,
theoretically, match the total of U. S. Notes and coins reported as
liabilities by the U. S. Government.
Thus, the total NET WORTH represents only the total value of the
three remaining categories, Tangible Wealth, Land Values, and U.S.
Bonds.
Land Values and U. S. Bonds together comprise the FALSE CAPITAL which
is being eliminated.
The dollar value of FALSE CAPITAL divided by the dollar value of NET
WORTH and multiplied by 100 expresses the proportion of false capital
as a percentage of net worth for each individual.
When all the statements from the whole population and from all
businesses, corporations, banks, schools, churches and government
agencies etc. are gathered in one place and run through a computer, we
will know the total value of assets, liabilities, false capital and
net worth. The most important figure will be the total national false
capital (fake) expressed as a percentage of total national net worth.
Then we will have a figure on which to base the EQUALIZATION.
If, for instance, the national false capital is found to be 40% of
national net worth, all individual owners of wealth whose percentage
of fake is below the 40% average will have to contribute the
difference to the national EQUALIZATION FUND, and all those whose
percentage is above 40% will receive COMPENSATION for the difference,
while those whose percentage is exactly 40% will neither contribute
nor receive. Thus everybody will have his net worth reduced by 40%, on
paper that is. But in reality nobody loses, everybody gains, for the
tyrannical powers of governments and monopolies have vanished. Our
true wealth has not been reduced by as much as one paper clip.
Those who must contribute to the Equalization Fund will sign interest
charged JUBILEE OBLIGATIONS which are to be paid off over a period of
time. Length of the term and size of monthly payments can be
determined by the debtor within certain limits.
Those to whom COMPENSATION is due will receive interest yielding
JUBILEE BONDS, fully negotiable.
As the obligations are being paid off the revenue is used for the
retirement of the bonds. This process continues until all the
obligations and all the bonds have been retired.
There is, however, due to the oppression and perverseness of the two
monopolies, a rapidly growing segment of the American population which
owns practically nothing except their few personal belongings. For
both practical and humanitarian reasons, these poor citizens can be
exempted from participation in the equalisation process as
contributors if their net worth is, say, less than $500 per family
member. They are the chief victims of MAMMON.
MORTGAGE DEBTS will be reduced by approximately the amount which
represents the mortgaged LAND VALUES. The landowners who receive
compensation because their false capital were above 40% of net worth
will use the negotiable JUBILEE BONDS to make extraordinary payments
on their mortgage debts. The remaining mortgage debt will still be
secured by the tangible assets.
The VALUATIONS used in the EQUALIZATION must be approved by the
owners, because these valuations form the basis on which the future
GROUND DUTY is to be assessed. If a man claims a high compensation for
lost land values he will also have to pay a high ground duty, and vice
versa.
In cases where unsound LAND SPECULATION may have driven the price of
land to unreasonable levels it may be impossible to evaluate the
compensation and the ground duty fairly. In such cases the
compensation may have to be impounded until the true value can be
found through actual usage of the land. In any case the speculator
should not be given an opportunity to dispose of his holdings at a
profit.
The EQUALIZATION should take place as of one single day, for instance
the first of July, after extensive and careful planning and
preparations. The monetary reform and the ground duty may take effect
on that same day. Whether it is technically possible to do all this as
of one single day is a good question, but we have come to expect
miracles from the wonders of electronic computers.
Even though the transition, the JUBILEE, may come in one day, it
would not cause any severe economic hardship on anyone, for the effect
would be gradual and geared to the circumstances of each individual.
The freedom from taxation and excessive government regulations would
be a tremendous boost to the economy, and the liquidation of the
JUBILEE obligations could be speeded up thereby. However, taxation of
income would have to be ended GRADUALLY, not all at once.
ONE NATION UNDER GOD WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL
Our God-Given, Inalienable Inheritance Restored
The birthright given every child by his Creator is the right to live
and work and use the natural opportunities on equal terms with all his
fellow men without having to pay any other man for that privilege.
This is the essence of the Law of Liberty and the essence of the Just
Society under the Great Landlord, God.
We recall how the Law of Liberty provided an inalienable inheritance,
freedom from perpetual debts, freedom from slavery, and freedom from
oppressive government.
These objectives are, all of them, fulfilled in the reforms here
envisioned.
Will we still cling to the traditions and laws of man and reap the
consequences, which are the CURSE? (Leviticus 26)
Or do we dare look forward to a renaissance and a renewed, modern
COVENANT with God, invoking the BLESSINGS?
"Behold, the days come, saith
the Lord,
that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel,
and with the house of Judah:
"Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers
in the day that I took them by the hand
to bring them out of the land of Egypt;
which my covenant they brake,
although I was an husband unto them,
saith the Lord:
"But this shall be the covenant
that I will make with the house of Israel:
After those days, saith the Lord,
I will put my laws in their inward parts,
and write it in their hearts;
and will be their God,
and they shall be my people."
(Jeremiah 31:31-33)
The Great Landlord and His Tenants
Shall we make a covenant with the Great Landlord, to keep all His
commandments, including the Law of Liberty! Then He will be our God,
and we will be His people.
Can we reorganize modern Society after the METHODS given by Moses?
No, but we can use the same PRINCIPLES!
Can we use the METHOD of dividing the land equally among all men in
all generations? No, but we can use the PRINCIPLE of equal
distribution of LAND RENT among all men in all generations!
Can we abide by the PRINCIPLE expressed in the words "The land
shall not be sold forever, for the land is mine, and ye are strangers
and sojourners with me ?" Yes, we can, for we can make a covenant
with the Lord to the effect that He is the Great Landlord and we are
His tenants; that a title to land means that God has GIVEN to the
title-holder the exclusive right to occupy and use that land, provided
that he fulfills two obligations.
The first obligation is the payment of TITHES to the Great Landlord
represented by His servants, whom He has appointed and authorized to
receive the tithes in His name and for the purposes which He directs
by His Holy Spirit. The tithes are to be one tenth of the INCREASE
resulting from the application of one's God-given talents to one's
God-given inheritance.
The second obligation is that the LAND RENT, i.e. the unearned net
income from land, shall be paid by the titleholders and distributed
equally among all men in all generations. This distribution of common
property shall take place only after deduction for common expenses,
for which cause governments are to be instituted among men. This
common property shall constitute man's equal and inalienable
inheritance.
Man's God-given talents shall constitute his unequal inheritance, for
the use of which each man is personally responsible to God.
Governments shall have no authority over the use of talents beyond the
power to secure justice by preventing injustice.
Can we abide by the PRINCIPLE: Thou Shalt Not Steal?
Yes, we can, by abiding by the POSITIVE ECONOMIC PRINCIPLE that
everything has a rightful owner; that TITLE to anything can be
acquired only three ways, and in no other way. The three ways are,
first, by MAKING the thing; second, by GIFT OR INHERITANCE from the
titleholder; third, by EXCHANGE between titleholders.
Can we abide by the PRINCIPLE of forgiveness of unpayable debt?
Yes, we can, for in the first place we cannot, if we will abide by
the first principles, force any man to pay US for the right to exist
on the earth and to borrow fictitious credit for that purpose. In the
second place, few people would then ever be unable to pay their just
debts.
Can we abide by the PRINCIPLES of Judgment, Mercy and Faith, which
are the weightier matters of the law?
Yes, we can, for Judgment (Justice) is to our own benefit, Mercy
(Charity) we can give, for we receive Mercy from God, and Faith is the
evidence of things unseen, which the Holy Spirit makes us KNOW.
There is, therefore, NO GOOD REASON why we cannot have that JUST
SOCIETY for which we are praying:
Thy Kingdom Come. Thy Will be
done
on Earth as it is in Heaven.
Return
to Part 2 *
Return
to Part 1
|
