How it Works
At its most basic, Geonomics is the substitution of taxes on labor, production, and capital,
with community collection of the value created by communities, which belongs to those
communities, and the opportunities provided by nature, which belongs equally to all humanity.
The following tutorials explain the economic theories upon which
Geonomics rests. We recommend visiting them in order.
The Gini Coefficient and Why Reducing Wealth Inequality Matters
The Gini Coefficient is a measure of wealth inequality.
As wealth inequality becomes greater, society becomes more
prone to either tyranny or collapse. Developed nations
try to combat extreme wealth equality with a planned
economy. Geonomics does so through the market.
The initial question is "should we care about wealth inequality?"
After all, people are always going to have different amounts of wealth, and
we need a certain amount of disequillibrium to drive the economy.
It turns out that there is strong evidence that,
beyond a certain level,
wealth inequality causes civilizations to regress and
eventually collapse. It also leads to stagnation in
innovation, and waste of effort in unproductive ways.
Such societies cannot last, and either rot from within
or are conquered from the outside. The process then
begins anew.
In this tutorial, we examine the pitfalls the extreme
wealth inequality can lead society and civilization into and
show the likelihood that wealth inequality has stronger
consequences in a democracy than in other forms of government.
Not All Taxes are Created Equal
Is "ability to pay" really the best system of taxes?
Geonomics proposes the "benefits received" system.
Most people recognize that there is a basic need for certain public services,
typically in areas best served by a monopoly, that require funding by
some sort of taxation.
However, taxes vary widely in the negative effects they
have on society; the difference has been
likened to a small, poorly-packed load that is difficult
to carry versus a well-packed (and possibly larger) load that is
carried with ease.
Current taxation in most countries has two common elements:
- It is based on ability to pay. Graduated income tax,
VAT, etc. assume that those who earn more or who can buy more
deserve to be taxed more.
- It casts a wide net. Despite numerous loopholes in
the tax code, taxes are made to fall on a large number of
activities so as to confer little advantage to different people,
and to prevent distortions in the market.
In this tutorial, we compare taxes, and the problems commonly
associated with them to see how to generate less harm from taxes.
Definitions of the Terms Used throughout this Site
Convinced we need to fight wealth inequality? Willing to concede that
there could be a better tax system? Then you're ready to dig into
Geonomics.
In order to be able to grasp and relate the ideas underlying
geonomics, it is important to have consistent, comprehensive
non-equivocative definitions for economic terms.
This section gives the
definitions that are used consistently throughout this site and shows why
such definitions are important.
The Economic Factors of Production and Wealth
Land, Labor, and Capital: the three factors
of wealth in classical economics.
Classical economics asserts three factors of wealth:
- Land: naturally-occurring resources such as soil and minerals
that are used in the creation of products, natural opportunities
such as fising and hunting quotas, natural forces such as the
electromagnetic spectrum, and natural services such
as pollution filtering. The payment for land is rent.
- Labor: human effort which
includes physical, technical and marketing expertise
that is used in production or directly ministering to
human desires.
The payment for labor is a wage.
- Capital: wealth which is used in the production of additional wealth.
These include machinery, tools and buildings.
In a general sense, the payment for capital is called interest.
In this tutorial, we show how these three factors corelate and
combine to form wealth.
Margin of Production
Land with different natural qualities or locational
advantages will have different prices. As the best
land is appropriated, rent increases and
wages are driven down.
The price of land, and the average worker's wages are determined by
the margin of production. Rent, the payment to titleholders of resources,
is determined by the difference between the productiveness of the
land in question versus that of the least productive land in use.
It is important to note that the margin operates not only on
agricultural land, where it is commonly called the margin of
cultivation and where differences are due more to natural conditions
of the land, but on commercial, industrial, and residential land
as well - where differences are largely due to location or
infrastructure.
In this tutorial, we examine the margin of production.
Overpopulation and the Malthusian Theory
While there is a limit to how many people the Earth can
maintain, is the crushing poverty that we're seeing
today caused by overpopulation, or can causes be traced
more proximately to greed and mismanagement?
It seems obvious that there are too many people for the Earth to
sustain in a fair amount of comfort; starvation, vice, and disease
seem to be the method nature uses to keep the human population
in check.
The theory underlying Geonomics shows that, were population
to be stabilized, human suffering would still
increase as technological progress continued.
Additionally, on closer examination of many of
the cases purported to be proof of the
Malthusean Population Theory,
it is found that the human suffering attributed
to overpopulation can instead
be attributed to a force preventing or compelling others
from taking action that would alleviate the suffering.
In this tutorial, we show that the Earth still has plenty
of ability to support an increased population - in increased
comfort - and we use some thought experiments to reveal
the unnatural forces largely responsible for human suffering.
The Boom/Bust Cycle
Roughly every 18 years, The United States goes
through the boom/bust cycle. While government
agencies try to dampen the extremes, one of the
root causes is continuously not addressed.
The boom/bust cycle has happened enough
times throughout recent history that we begin
to view it is a natural thing. We speak of the economy overheating,
we speak of stagflation, we speak of overproduction and
overconsumption, but how often do we stop to think how odd it
is that there are people who are willing to work that must be
maintained by the charity of others, including welfare and
unemployment.
There are a number of reasons for the boom/bust cycle, but
in this tutorial, we focus on one critical reason: the
advancing of the speculative margin of production beyond
the actual margin of production.
Application to Other Resources
The economic term "land" covers all natural forces and opportunities.
In this example: water rights, clean air, plants and animals,
oil and minerals, and the EM spectrum. Geonomics also focuses on
recovering money from privilege such as LLCs, patents, etc.
Geonomics can be extended to anything that earns rent. It can
also be extended to any government-granted privileges.
In this tutorial, we examine the 7 big privileges corporations
get, and investigate some of the other areas where Geonomics
can recapture revenue.
Citizen's Dividend / Guaranteed Basic Income
The citizen's dividend is a share in the prosperity of the country.
It is not funded from the efforts of others, but from rent and privilege
fees as compensation for lost opportunities. As such, it causes minimal
distortions in the market.
One of the more controversial issues tied to Geonomics is
that of a citizen's dividend: a minimum guaranteed income
representing one share in the natural value of the country -
paid for lost opportunities. The important thing to note
is that there would be no distinction between citizens:
young, old, rich, poor, handicapped, able-bodied would
all receive the same amount. The only exception would
be that local communities and states could give their
residents dividends from the value generated by those
entities. This would allow juristictions to
compete for residents.
In this tutorial, we investigate the pros and cons of the
C.D., show some figures on how much it could be (in the U.S.),
and take virtual tours of places that are already doing
it or a derivative.
Rebuttals to Common Objections / Thought Experiments
Answers to common objections, and some thought experiments
In this section, we address several common objections and
offer some thought experiments to think about at
your liesure.
We ask you to bear in mind that no solution is a panacea,
but there are things that move us closer to or further away
from our goals. The goals of the supporters of Geonomics are
freedom, equality of opportunity, justice, and a belief in
human progress.
Thank you for taking the time to learn about
Geonomics. If you have any questions or comments, please
post to our boards.