today I began the REAL blog

http://answersanswers.blogspot.com/

This is the one I've been talking about for years, the one that will, over the long term, provoke people to pay attention.

My other web sites

• EnterTheStory.com- I make games based on classic novels: also includes an occasional blog, a forum, etc. Sales of the game fund this project.
• Lone Voice In the Wilderness - an occasional blog about serious things, silly things, and anything that does not fit anywhere else.
• The Zak McKracken Archive - a tribute to my favorite video game (see, I'm not deadly serious all the time) 
• AnswersAnswers.com - the main 'change the world' site
• Plus some social network sites like FaceBook, and a few sites I no longer maintain. 
• So now you know.

For more information...

For more about saving the world, visit AnswersAnswers.com

It used to have sections on  God and religions, and life after death, abortion, torture, animals, the future, and why the universe exists. But reviewers felt those parts were too much to take in.

When this project is ready, AnswersAnswers  will contain answers to whatever problems are in the day's news.

The logic of land rent

This is a short version of the logic of land rent. It could be expanded to use more formal language.


1. metaphysics
If anything exists then it is made of properties.
notes:
"anything"  = any object, any idea, e.g. a rock, a person, or a happy feeling
"properties" = the characteristics that define it e.g. the dictionary definition
  Note that this is not an assumption, it is a statement of logic. 


2. measuring
Properties are measured by seeing what changes when a thing is not there
  E.g. if you remove the item and mass disappears, the item has the property "mass."
Put another way, to find out to get something you want, see what causes it.


3. causing
If more of a thing exists then more of its properties exist.
e.g. more painters means more paintings (by definition, painters create paintings)
So If you want Y then you want X, because X causes Y 
 e.g. if you valuable land then you pay the people who make it valuable


4. trading
Some properties can be changed without changing a thing's identity.
e.g. changing color, changing the car you drive, etc.
This can be called trade: you rearrange properties without losing anything. 


5. values
Some properties have value in relation to a particular point.
i.e. this logic really matters, it is not just games with ideas.
e.g. if y = 2x then y has a value in relation to x; 
If a person's existence depends on food then food has a value in terms of that person.

6. profit and loss
Some trades increase or decrease a thing's value
note: in a perfectly efficient market, exchanges reduce profit to almost zero.
However, wealth still increases because sunlight (a gift) powers food production, etc.
Note the conservation of energy and laws of entropy in a closed system.
What we call wealth creation is simply the exchange of one thing (e.g. random materials) for something useful (e.g. manufactured goods). Ultimately any growth is traced to sunlight.


7. property and theft
Reducing another thing's value is called theft.
I.e. the presence of X creates the property "reduced value" in Y
  Note we could also say 'X is poisonous to Y' - it is just a label to indicate .


8. time
Alternatives imply alternative universes, known as different points in time.
Note that this logic does not imply that time flows, only that differences can be compared.
Note that a trade may take years for its results to be seen - e.g. investment; some pollution


9. tax on work is theft
Tax on work reduces the value of another's property and is therefore theft.


10. land rent is a government's property
If a government increases the value of land (e.g. by providing roads and safety) then that value is their property (see 'measuring' above).
This can be measured by the market price of bare land.

Note how the economic concept of "property" can be derived from the scientific definition.  In contrast, traditional definitions of economic property are derived from the opinions of philosophers, not logic.

The only economic theory that makes sense

Land rent works because it is the only economic theory that can be derived from pure logic, starting with absolutely no assumptions.

In contrast, all conventional economic theories are based on "facts" (read anyeconomic textbook for examples), and facts are open to conflicting interpretations, so are little better than opinions. In other words, they are built on a foundation of sand, whereas land rent is built on solid bedrock

How I will change the world

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Phase 1: research: completed
1980-1990: blue skies thinking
My goal was the save the world. So first I had to understand the nature of the problem.
Conclusion: the world is fundamentally broken, so needs a fundamental fix
1990-2000: abstract economics
I realized that the central problem was economic, so worked out a theoretically better system
But the problem: it was too complex, too abstract
2001-2010: land rent

I discovered the key: land rent. Now everything fell into place.

The basic idea: it simplifies economics and politics


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Phase 2: prepare
2011: bulletproof it
The first step is to make it logically bulletproof, to win over the thinkers
The basic concept: if you do good, you are rewarded for it

2012: plan it

Next, I plan a detailed roadmap, so I can answer any questions that arise.

The basic idea: people pay the same land rent as they paid in tax

2013: package it

Next, I make sure that everybody benefits at every stage, so the plan has no enemies.

The basic idea: even land owners benefit

2014: headline it

Next I link it to high profile ideas, so people notice

I show how no matter what your problem, land rent will fix it: make Google page rank notice.

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Phase 3: get on the national agenda
2015: network it

Next I build a following among ordinary web sites and networks. Now people start to notice.

Get a big FaceBook and Twitter following, get other web sites on board 
2016: build a team

By this stage I will need a campaign team, to reach the big time
Learn from other grass roots organizations

2017: find champions

We need endorsement from either celebrities or recognized experts

Find people the powerful will listen to

2018: reach think tanks

The goal is to get this discussed by the people who provide ideas for politicians 
Every major political movement gets ideas from policy foundations and institutes
2019: reach the mass media

Now we create a buzz, so that politicians notice it

This should be discussed on high visibility newspapers, web sites, shows, etc.


_____________________________________________________________

Phase 4: mainstream politics
2020: get it adopted by a mainstream party
Now the professionals take over
Probably the liberals - this was their central policy back when they were popular and exciting
2021 and after: monitor it
Now it is up to the professionals - my job will be to solve any problems and keep it on track
2025: voted in?
Ideas take a long time to bed in, and then we have to wait for elections
2030: adopted in a big way
The first wave will be small scale, just to see if it works. The next wave will be bigger scale.
2035: other nations notice the results
2040: it is unstoppable
2050: the world is saved
By the time you are old, the world has entered a new age where war and poverty are dying out, and freedom and justice are spreading everywhere. The world is saved.

My message

Paying land rent instead of tax will solve all the world's problems. It also creates more wealth, so we can compensate anyone (e.g. landowners) who might not like the idea.

Why land rent will save the world:

Tax on work makes a lot of work unprofitable, which destroys millions of jobs. Also, workers have to pay rent, yet the landowners don't! Over generations this creates massive inequality. Land rent fixes both problems.

Also, by ending taxes and tying government income to a fixed location, it makes the cost and benefits of government much easier to measure. This lets us choose much better governments, which fixes everything.

This blog gives the details, and shows how I will make it happen.