Sharing The Land, Land Rent, and Money Commons and a Little on Conscious Evolution

1. Sharing The Land, Land Rent, and Money Commons and a Little on Conscious Evolution International Union for Land Value Taxation Conference July 25, 2013 Gary Flomenhoft, Lecturer, Environmental Science Fellow, Gund Institute, U. Vermont

2. Precautionary Principle for Reformers There is nothing more difficult to carry out, more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to handle, than to initiate a new order of things. For those who would institute change have enemies in all those who profit by the old order, and they have only lukewarm defenders in all those who would profit by the new order. — Nicolo Machiavelli, 1490

3. Conscious Evolution-Riane Eisler Dominator to Partnership Economy DOMINATOR PARTNERSHIP

4. Conscious Evolution-Eisler Dominator to Partnership Economy DOMINATOR PARTNERSHIP CARING ECONOMY NEO-LIBERAL ECONOMY

5. Conscious Evolution-Paradigm Dialectic Thesis Anti-thesis Synthesis Dominator Anti-Dominator Partnership Patriarchy  Feminism  Egalitarianism Anthropocentrism  Biocentrism  Biospherism Infinite Growth  No Growth  Sustainability Capitalism  Communism  Caring, Justice, Geoism?  

6. Ecological Economy = Throughput ECONOMY Labor & Capital transform resources POLLUTION (sinks) DEPLETION (sources) LAND USE (sites)

7. US Severances Taxes (rent): minerals, ores, fuels, forests, fisheries, etc. (Source:http://www.ncsl.org/issues-research/budget/state-energy-revenues-update.aspx)

8. http://www.swfinstitute.org/fund-rankings/) Oil, gas, minerals, diamonds, copper, phosphates Education, development, pensions, dividends, etc.

9. Alaska Model: Alaska Permanent Fund (sub-surface minerals public property)

10. Sink Rent=Greentaxes

11. Sink Rent

12. +4,3 2003 2002 +2,5 2001 +3,0 2000 +2,5 +4,3 1999 FINANCIAL EFFECTS OF 1999 ETR IN GERMANY (IN BILLION EURO) Energy taxes in Germany increased by 55 percent, additional increase in 2005 through truck toll ~ 56 ~ 53 3,0 + 3,0 Road Toll (0 → 9-14 cents/km) 18,7 bn € = 55% in- crease 6,5 Electricity (0 → 2,1 cents/kWh) 2005 5,0 Natural gas (0,2 → 0,6 cents/kWh) 1,8 Fuel oil (4,1 → 6,2 cents/l) 16,0 Diesel (31,7 → 47,2 cents/l) Road toll for trucks ETR Petrol (50,1 → 65,6 cents/l) ~34 22,8 Total green taxes almost 90 Bn (incl. tobacco, land etc.) Energy taxes Energy taxes 2003/2005 1998

13. 1999 GERMAN ETR: RECYCLING OF THE RETURNS Almost 90 Percent was recycled to citizens in order to reduce labour cost • Environment Projects • Renewable Energies • Less CO2 in buildings • Tax break bio-fuels Govt. Budget use Social Security Economy Pension system • Our Comment: • Great idea, in principle • Less than perfect execution Decrease in pension costs = 16 Bn relief for employers, employees and pensioners

14. Green Tax Shift-Vermont

15. Green Tax Shift-Vermont $500 Million Green Taxes

16. Green Tax Shift-Vermont

17. Capitalism 3.0-Barnes-Common Sector Trusts

18. VT Common Assets Trust Fund-VCAT Protect certain common assets (such as air and water) for the benefit of present and future generations, Establish a framework under which certain users of those common assets may be assessed fees Deposited into a common assets trust fund Managed so as to protect those assets and serve the interests of present and future people of the state.

19. VT Common Assets Trust Fund-VCAT Legislation S.44-2007 MillerH.385-2011 Pearson • Based on Barnes Capitalism 3.0 • Collect revenue on natural and social assets. • 25% minimum dividend for citizens

20. Vermont Resources-Sovereign wealth? No oil No natural gas No coal No precious metals No gemstones No sun Not much wind What do have of value?

21. Vermont Resources Cows Maple Syrup

22. VT Common Assets Trust Fund-VCAT How much is it worth? Natural Common Assets: Air, Fish & Wildlife, Public Forests, Groundwater, Surfacewater, Minerals, Wind, Social Common Assets: Internet & web, Broadcast Spectrum, Land Value, Financial System, Monetary System (Pharmaceuticals, etc not included)

23. COMMONS-SOCIAL • Financial Speculation tax: 30% of value of public companies is from publicly created value: Regulation, Stock market, liquidity, etc. • Money Creation/Seigniorage: Fed Reserve • QE3=$85B/mo = $1T/year • Why not Basic Income? = $3164/person/yr) • Isle of Guernsey-public money • Broadcast Spectrum: 98% given away free • Internet & web: US military-100% public funding • Land value: socially created

24. Public Trust Doctrine-VCAT “As society moves forward, the list of assets that should belong to the people in common because the assets were inherited or created together, and therefore should be preserved in the common interest has expanded now logically to include natural assets such as undisturbed habitats, entire ecosystems, biological diversity, waste absorption capacity, nutrient cycling, flood control, pollination, raw materials, fresh water replenishment systems, soil formation systems, and the global atmosphere; and also to include social assets such as the Internet, our legal and political systems, universities, libraries, accounting procedures, science and technology, transportation infrastructure, the radio spectrum, and city parks. In enacting the regional greenhouse gas initiative (RGGI), the state of Vermont already has determined that the ability to discharge carbon into the atmosphere is an ability that belongs to people in common, and that needs to be managed in the common interest.”

25. Total Co2 Emissions in Vermont-Jennifer Kenyan and Beth Nolan Sept 2008 Auction: $3.07/tonne x 8.44 = $25.9 million High Estimate: $300/ton x 8.44 = $2724 million ($3gas) (>$4 gas tax: Austria, Belgium, Czech, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, UK)

26. Fish and Wildlife Rent-Ross Saxton Low = $10.4 Million High = $25.1

27. Forests-Mark Kolonoski Public- State Forests $3.2 million State Parks $6.58 million Fish and Wildlife $180,486 (logging) Current Use Program $17 million TOTAL $27 million Private- Forest-based manufacturing $207.4 million Recreation/tourism $485 million Forestry and logging $32 million Paper and Pulp $50 million TOTAL $774 million

28. Revenue Generating Suggestions • Leave public lands alone • Current Use withdrawal penalty • Depletion of Ecosystem Services (DES) tax • Impose auction and insurance bond regulation • Vermont Public Land Bank • Low=10% of $32M from logging = $3.2M High = $32M

29. Groundwater Economic Rent-Colin McClung Low High: $121.4M

30. Surface Water-Elliot Wilkinson-Ray • Current Private Revenue: • Public Supply: $ 35,000,000 • Wastewater Permits: $ 1,692,350 • Hydroelectric (dams): $ 164,775,527 • Thermoelectric (nuke): $ 316,000,000 • Recreation: $ 109,096,309 • Total: $ 626,564,186

31. Surface Water-Elliot Wilkinson-Ray (small discharge fee)

32. Rent • Hydro:10% of revenue ($164,775,527) $16,477,553 • End Local hydro subsidy: $ 6,000,000 • Vermont Yankee 5c/1000gals: $ 7,600,000 • Public Consumption 5% (over 40,000): $ 639,000 • Other uses: $.05/1,000 gallon • (24 million gallons/day) = $ 438,000 • Total surface water rent: $ 31.2 Million • (Low and High)

33. Vermont Mining Revenue 2005-Ian Raphael Low = 10% severance tax =$9.68 High = $16 million

34. Public Revenue from Wind Farms-Susan Salka • Assume 6.6 cents per kwh* selling price** x 689,850,000kwh/yr • = $45,530,100 - $38,631,600 = $6,898,500.00 • Assume 10.6 cents per kwh* selling price** x 689,850,000kwh/yr • = $73,124,100 - $38,631,600 = $34,492,500 • Assume 30.6 cents per kwh* selling price** x 689,850,000kwh/yr • = $211,094,100 - $38,631,600 = $172,462,500

35. Land Rent in Vermont-Conor Casey Current State Property Taxes are set at ~1.05%, with municipalities adding additional rates. Current Revenue • Current Use Penalties • $489,540 • Speculative Gains Penalties • $5,646,165.77 • Property Transfer Tax • $38,315,508.89 • State Property Tax • $696,371,326 • Total Revenue • $740,822,540

36. Land Rent • Low=A state land tax of 5% would capture most if not all of this rent, collecting $1.07 billion- $740 = $329.8 • High = 10% = $2143M • (Altoona, PA 36% land tax)

37. Internet as a Common Asset-Ida Kubiszewski Rent Potential

38. Spectrum in Vermont-William Murray “They Used to Rob Stagecoaches, Now they Rob Spectrum.” John McCain • Per Capita Value of Spectrum : $1002.12 • In Vermont (x629,908) : $625.23 million/yr • *40% normal profit = $250 million/yr • Economic rent = $375 Million/yr (Low and High)

39. Financial Speculation-Liquidity trust 30% Barnes Dean Baker Current Trading Projected Tax Rate Revenue (Annual Rates) Volume AfterTax Volume (both sides) Stocks $11 trillion $7.3 trillion 0.5% $36.5 billion Government Bonds $41.6 trillion $27.7 trillion 0.1% $27.7 billion Corporate Bonds $22.1 trillion $14.7 trillion 0.1% $14.7 billion Futures Contracts $100 trillion $66.7 trillion 0.02% $13.3 billion Currency $200 trillion $133.3 trillion 0.1% $33.3 billion (worldwide) (U.S. share = 25%) Swaps $22 trillion $14.7 trillion 0.02% $2.9 billion Options Not available NA 0.01% NA TotalUS Revenue (.25% RATE)$128.4 billion) x .21% Vermont Revenue$269M Low (2000 Baker) $743M High (2009 Baker)

40. Monetary System-2004 WHO CREATES MONEY? (SEIGNORAGE)

41. Monetary System Until we have 100% reserve requirements and public Money