Good serious thinking.
> The only public revenue that is truly just and justified is that which
> is associated with and derived from the government's proper role in
> creating and allocating property rights in natural resources,
But I would argue that the government does not "create" property
rights. Such rights preceed and are independent of government and
originate in production. Even the right to the use of raw land is
created by those individuals who made it humanly useful. Government
may, by protecting those rights, make them more valuable.
> The sovereign's public policy in a geographic area makes that area
> hospitable or inhospitable for human use, and in demand. Thus the public
> policies, and public expenditure of the sovereign are responsible for
> the demand for land and thus ground rents.
It is responsible for SOME of the demand and SOME of the ground
rents. But the same is true for all other productive activity. By
protecting other types of property rights derived from production,
the government also makes them more valuable than they otherwise
would be. Land and ground rents are not unique in this regard. In
all cases, the only way to measure how much of the value is due to
government protection of rights is by the marketplace.
>> "Ground-rents, so far as they exceed the ordinary rent of land, are
>> altogether owing to the good government of the sovereign, which, by
>> protecting the industry either of the whole people, or of the
>> inhabitants of some particular place, enables them to pay so much more
>> than its real value for the ground which they build their houses upon;
>> or to make to its owner so much more than compensation for the loss
>> which he might sustain by this use of it."
Interesting that Adam Smith had it exactly right!
> Public revenue derived from the ground rent of land and natural
> resources, such as from Land Value Tax, is just because there is no
> injustice or violation of individual liberty or the free market in
> collecting it.
If it collects the tax involuntarily that certainly violates
individual liberty and is not a free market! The marketplace is
the standard of justice.
CCS
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