Maybe I'm Amazed
In 1879 Henry George proposed a Single Tax system in his book, Progress and Poverty. The idea was that no one really owns land, and that we all merely rent it. The Single Tax was to be a rent on land, but not upon improvements to the land or of profits made from the use of it. The advantage of the system, was that it was simple, and it is a fact that things which are kept simple do tend to work out better.
Most likely it would be alright in an agrarian society, but that's not what we have anymore. Now we have an Industrial Technological society, and the landscape has completely changed.
Our current system of taxation is a most complicated mess. Politicians funded by Corporate Special Interest groups and Lobbyists, have introduced so many exclusions, exceptions, and subsidies into the tax codes, that even an intelligent person who works full time as an accountant cannot hope to comprehend it all. In 2003 a GAO report said that 50% of Corporations were paying no taxes at all! Currently the disparity between the rich and the poor is greater than it was during the Great Depression. Thus, the rich have engineered for themselves a free ride, while dumping the tax burden upon everybody else, especially the Middle Class.
The solution is quite simple : siphon money off the top for government use in providing the infrastructure of society available to everybody. There is plenty of money there for this, and by eliminating taxes for most members of society, their economic activity will increase, which is good for business.
The way this should be done is through a Single Tax on Corporate Profit for businesses, and Capital Gains for individuals. It would be a graduated tax system, and the form would be one page long, since there would be no exemptions, exclusions, or subsidies. Under this Single Tax system, a Corporation might consider raising their prices in order to pass their tax off on somebody else, but if they did, they would either stifle their sales, or push themselves into a higher tax bracket. Optimum pricing is a fairly simple economic formula here.
Under this system most businesses, and the overwhelming majority of citizens, would never have to pay any taxes at all, and the government would have all the money it needs for providing society's infrastructure. Only the largest Corporations and the Ultra-rich would be paying taxes, but they can console themselves through the increased economy activity of everybody else. There aren't actually any losers here, except in the minds of a few people whose personal greed is larger than the planet. True economic wealth exists only in the flow, and not in the accumulation.
These animated Moving Mandalas are very large files. Please click on the pic, and wait for it to load. The Contemplation will be very enabling, carrying your Mind beyond the mundane world
Monday, August 19, 2013
The Single Tax System
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
The Illuminati Conspiracy Theories, and the Climate Denial Hoax
Wagner - Die Walküre: "The Ride of the Valkyries" (Boulez)
The Illuminati Conspiracy Theories, and the Climate Denial Hoax
by James Clair Lewis (updated 2013)
Much has been made in the Conspiracy Theories about how the Illuminati control the world, and are also seeking total world domination. You can't have that both ways. Either they control everything, or they don't. Well, they don't, but they sure would like to.
I've been aware of the Conspiracy Theories (which originated with the John Birch Society, funded by the father of the Koch brothers) since the late 1960s, and I most certainly enjoyed the Illuminatus fiction books by Robert Shea, and Robert Anton Wilson, which became very popular during the mid 1970s, and early 1980s. Those books managed to include just about every Conspiracy Theory around from all sources imaginable, and maybe from a few sources which aren't imaginable at that!
Now if you really, really dig into these Conspiracy Theories, you will find two things :
A) Some come from people doing real researching into skullduggery in high places. These get little press, and are soon forgotten. Often they are true
B) The most popular and widely spread Conspiracy Theories, originate from Think Tanks funded by major Corporations.
That's right! The Conspiracy Theories which supposedly expose the evil doings of the Illuminati are, in fact, written by the Illuminati themselves. So they don't tell you the truth. What they tell you, is what the Elite want you to believe. They magnify the power of the Illuminati way beyond the power they actually possess. These people are power-mad beyond belief, and there is no way that such people could ever cooperate with each other to the extent that they claim.
In other words, these Conspiracy Theories are a Psy-Ops designed to instill fear and confusion. The people who believe in these Conspiracy Theories written by the Illuminati, are not mainstream thinkers. They are people who crave to be a sort of special elite, possessing Insider Information. Now get them all chasing their tails in fits of paranoia, and their effect upon society becomes essentially nullified... or worse, they can be used to further the aims of the very people they claim to oppose. So now you know what the purpose of the Conspiracy Theories actually are : DISINFORMATION.
During the Reagan, Bush Sr, and Bush Jr Regimes, Climate Science was ignored by the government. Reagan even removed the Solar Power which President Jimmy Carter had placed on the White House. (I should also point out that while it has never been conclusively proven, that there is evidence that the Republicans (through George Bush, SR, who as CIA Director, was conducting the hostage negotiations) paid Iran to hold the hostages, until after the Election, so that Reagan could get in, and then proceed to quadruple the National Debt through Military Industrial Complex spending)
So Climate Denial has always been a Republican thing, but when the Democrats have been in power, steps (weak ones) were taken to do something about it. Ever notice that politicians who are Climate Deniers get most of their funding from the Oil Corporations, and Big Agra? That's not an accident. That's not even a Theory. It is a fact. The Oil Corporations, (especially Koch Industries and Exxon Mobile), and Big Agra are most responsible for the pollution linked to Climate Change, so they are funding the efforts of Climate Denial for the sake of their PROFITS.
I should also point out that Koch Industries, (the largest privately owned Oil Corporation in America), is financing the Tea Party Movement. Again we see Fascism playing dress up in the guise of Patriotism, and Liberty. If the Tea Party Movement manages to get the Republican Party back into full power in 2012 (or ever), then we would get the Martial Law, FEMA Camps, Chipping, and everything else they have been screaming about
The Tea Party Movement says it is about small government. The people running the Tea Party Movement want weak government. A weak government can't regulate Corporations, or prevent them from doing harm to public health, or the environment. Additionally, a weak government is easy for Corporate Special Interests to take over. See how that works?
Much has been made of the fact that Al Gore has heavily invested in Green Technologies. Much more would have been made of it, if he hadn't. Have you ever considered the concept of investing in something you believe in? That might be a hard concept to accept for somebody who doesn't believe in anything.
Do I think Al Gore is perfect? Of course not! Like every honest person on the planet, he is figuring things out, as he goes along. Only recently, has he been figuring out that the Meat Industry is actually more responsible for the Global Warming that we are responsible for, than the Oil Technologies. Well, Dennis Kucinich, is a bit further along in his thinking and practice
Some more things I should point out.
Methane is a much more powerful greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. Factory Meat Farms produce tons of methane. Meat eating is actually doing more harm to our environment, than all the cars and trucks, etc in the world. AND, we do not need to eat meat
Did you know that if you have a pot of water being heated that contains ice cubes, that the water will remain near its initial temperature, until all the ice cubes have melted? After that, the water heats up very rapidly. This is known as Latent Heat, and this is what is happening at our poles right now, as the ice sheets and glaciers melt first
There is a cascade effect going on with multiple causes. That's right. You can have several different causes involved in creating an effect. Our part of this is involved with the Oil Technology (which just happens to be a major cause of cancer), and the Factory Farming of meat by Big Agra. From these huge releases of GreenHouse gasses, the PermaFrost is beginning to melt. That releases tons of Methane which will further heat things up on a Global Scale, and do it progressively.
Now with the permafrost melting and releasing megatons of frozen arctic methane, we have a climate feedback loop, which could get completely out of control, and it is our fault
The Conspiracy Theories would have you believe that the Republicans and the Democrats are merely two sides of one coin. That's not true. It is Nihilism designed to discourage people from engaging in the political process, and leaving the field open to Corporate control. The Republicans are completely owned by Corporate Special Interests. The Democrats, not so much. The Democrats are a generally moderate party, and they have not figured out that there is a difference between the Corporate Economic System of the Stock Market, and the Free Enterprise system of private businesses (not traded on the Stock Market).
This is what we have to fix, and it will not be fixed just by pressuring government to fix it. We have to assume personal responsibility by changing our lifestyles towards not contributing to the mess, as much as we urge government to deal with it. I barely use my car, and I have an Organic Garden. I recycle anything that might have value, and am well on the way to creating a zero footprint on the Earth.
These animated Moving Mandalas are very large files. Please click on the pic, and wait for it to load. The Contemplation will be very enabling, carrying your Mind beyond the mundane world
Monday, November 5, 2012
The Caucus Election Process
Jefferson Airplane - Volunteers
The Caucus Election Process What to do after 2012
The first requirement of good government, is that it be the sole property of the people at large. Every tyranny throughout history began when the people became the property of their own government. A civilized government exists solely for the purpose of serving the electorate. It will do this by providing & maintaining the infrastructure of society, through an evolving body of law, embracing both the individual, and the collective rights to live in peace.
At every level of government both individuals and groups, must have the rights to speech, conduct, and full expression of freedom, which do not impinge upon the same rights of other individuals and groups. No single person, nor class of society, shall be regarded as superior to any other. All individuals, and groups shall be considered as being equally valuable to society.
The primary function of government shall be the regulation & equitable distribution of certain essential functions of society. These being : the health, education, quality of life, commerce, agriculture, national resources, energy, a legal system, transportation, and the physical infrastructure. Decisions must be derived through a process of the general consensus of the electorate, with respect to the fundamental rights of all individuals and groups of citizenry. Thus, government should not be a ruler over people, but a coordinating body implementing the decisions made by Society as a whole, and a referee protecting everyone's rights.
In order for this to be possible, a high level of citizen involvement in the decision making processes is required. Thus, there needs to be a periodic Caucus process of the entire Society, in which citizens beginning from the grassroots level of their neighborhoods, may voice their concerns, place binding Referendum measures for ratification or dismissal on ballots at elections, and also submit cantidates for Office, who will publicly debate issues thoroughly before elections.
The ancient Athenian democracy was actually a lottery system for land-owning men. Subsequent democracies enfranchized greater percentages of populations, but also had a basic flaw. Economics enabled the rich to essentially buy elections for cantidates who would represent their interests, and demogoguery would lead countries back toward dictatorship. In Communist countries the Party was supposed to represent the people, but once established, it merely represented itself. With the Caucus the debates of the entire field of cantidates are the main focus.
The Caucus is not a political party. The Caucus is built up from the grass-roots level of people's actual neighborhoods, and thus it represents the major currents of political thought present in the general population. At each level of the Caucus, each person who wishes to speak, must be heard. At each level of the Caucus, four cantidates are selected as representatives, which will ensure that the major themes of political thought present in the population will be represented. Thus, having heard in the public political debates, the Electorate will then vote, and make its collective decisions.
The inclusive nature of the Caucus arises from its structure, and selection process. Beginning with a neighborhood, one person is selected at random to be a neighborhood representative. Then each person who wishes to speak, has their say about politics, and after this, a vote is taken, and the top three also become neighborhood representatives. The result is that the neighborhood will be represented by three people who probably have different viewpoints, plus one person selected by chance.
One will be the most articulate representative of the most prevalent point of view. One will be the best speaker of the next most prevalent point of view, and the third will most likely represent another point of view. The fourth will be the random selection, who usually will also represent the majority, but not always. Sometimes the random selection will represent an unusual point of view, and this is important, because in the Caucus, all points of view must have a hearing. It should also be noted that in different areas there will be large differences in what the prevalent points of view will be.
So the Caucus begins at the immediate neighborhood level. Depending upon the geography of where people live, this might be the adults living on a street, or perhaps one end of a street, or all of the adults living on a single floor of a high rise apartment building. In any event, it should be about 20 people living fairly near each other. As explained above, they will select 4 people to represent them at the next level of Caucus.
These people will then meet with those selected by their next immediate neighbors, and the process is repeated again. One is chosen at random, and after discussion, a vote is taken to pick out three more people as representatives at the next higher Caucus level. This process is repeated as needed, until you get at the Town level, where you will have your first election.
At the Town level you will need candidates for all of the Town Offices, plus people to serve as Caucus representatives in the higher levels of the Caucus. Actually, you will need three times as many people as are needed to ensure that they are plenty of candidates, and that all points of view are represented among them. The Election should happen one month after the ballot is submitted to the public, which is plenty of time for thinking and campaigning through public debates and discussions, which should be televised, and transcripts made available.
The Ballot should be set up as a matrix with Candidates all listed in alphabetical order in one column, and the possible positions listed across the top. Thus, you can vote for anybody listed for any one position. Some people may declare that they want to serve the Community at the local level, and that ought to make the election part of this much simpler. After this election, those elected to local offices, will assume their duties, and those selected by vote as representatives for higher level Caucuses will proceed to the County level Caucus, where the whole process is repeated again.
At the State level you will need Candidates for executive & judicial positions, plus candidates for two legislative bodies, and representatives for higher levels of the Caucus : Continental, and Planetary. I'm putting in Continental and Planetary levels of government, because I want to include the entire human race in the decision making process of government. You simply cannot have a corrupt ruling class making decisions for everybody else, when the general public always has the final say on all legislation through The Direct Vote, especially when governmental representatives are chosen by the general public through a Caucus process.
At the State and higher levels of Planetary government you will need two legislative bodies : A House & a Senate. I propose that the House be a legislative body composed of men, and that the Senate be a legislative body composed of women. This will ensure that any Bill to be submitted to the general public for a vote, be acceptable to both men and women, since our species has two sexes, who often are at odds with each other. (Now please forgive me for sticking in a joke in this rather dry piece of political theory : I'd like to call them the Men's Room, and the Ladies Lounge...)
Men & Women actually are of equal intelligence, and equally deserving of respect, and representation in the decision-making processes of government. However, men and women simply do not go about thinking in the same way, so it seems reasonable to me to take advantage of that fact by giving each an equal voice in government.
This system is somewhat complicated, as befits a complicated society, although the principles underlying it are simple enough. The entire process is slow, and will require much deliberation at every step by the general public, which is a good thing, because we should always think things out carefully, before doing anything. It's advantages lies in these facts :
A) That it is more representative than any other version of Democracy or Republic,
B) That it totally involves the entire population in the political process,
C) That it will provide a selection of able & informed cantidates for office, who would otherwise be overlooked,
D) That it ends the domination of the political process by rich special interests of a ruling class.
All these things taken together ensure a stable government, of the People, by the People, and for the People.
These animated Moving Mandalas are very large files. Please click on the pic, and wait for it to load. The Contemplation will be very enabling, carrying your Mind beyond the mundane world
Monday, September 10, 2012
Political Solutions
Phil Ochs - I Ain't Marchin' Anymore
Here are a set of articles I've written about Political Solutions. We can only get so far, when we discuss political problems. In discussing Solutions we begin to make them happen
Nature Photo Galleries
Saturday, May 5, 2012
The Caucus Election Process
Jefferson Airplane - Volunteers
The Caucus Election Process What to do after 2012
The first requirement of good government, is that it be the sole property of the people at large. Every tyranny throughout history began when the people became the property of their own government. A civilized government exists solely for the purpose of serving the electorate. It will do this by providing & maintaining the infrastructure of society, through an evolving body of law, embracing both the individual, and the collective rights to live in peace.
At every level of government both individuals and groups, must have the rights to speech, conduct, and full expression of freedom, which do not impinge upon the same rights of other individuals and groups. No single person, nor class of society, shall be regarded as superior to any other. All individuals, and groups shall be considered as being equally valuable to society.
The primary function of government shall be the regulation & equitable distribution of certain essential functions of society. These being : the health, education, quality of life, commerce, agriculture, national resources, energy, a legal system, transportation, and the physical infrastructure. Decisions must be derived through a process of the general consensus of the electorate, with respect to the fundamental rights of all individuals and groups of citizenry. Thus, government should not be a ruler over people, but a coordinating body implementing the decisions made by Society as a whole, and a referee protecting everyone's rights.
In order for this to be possible, a high level of citizen involvement in the decision making processes is required. Thus, there needs to be a periodic Caucus process of the entire Society, in which citizens beginning from the grassroots level of their neighborhoods, may voice their concerns, place binding Referendum measures for ratification or dismissal on ballots at elections, and also submit cantidates for Office, who will publicly debate issues thoroughly before elections.
The ancient Athenian democracy was actually a lottery system for land-owning men. Subsequent democracies enfranchized greater percentages of populations, but also had a basic flaw. Economics enabled the rich to essentially buy elections for cantidates who would represent their interests, and demogoguery would lead countries back toward dictatorship. In Communist countries the Party was supposed to represent the people, but once established, it merely represented itself. With the Caucus the debates of the entire field of cantidates are the main focus.
The Caucus is not a political party. The Caucus is built up from the grass-roots level of people's actual neighborhoods, and thus it represents the major currents of political thought present in the general population. At each level of the Caucus, each person who wishes to speak, must be heard. At each level of the Caucus, four cantidates are selected as representatives, which will ensure that the major themes of political thought present in the population will be represented. Thus, having heard in the public political debates, the Electorate will then vote, and make its collective decisions.
The inclusive nature of the Caucus arises from its structure, and selection process. Beginning with a neighborhood, one person is selected at random to be a neighborhood representative. Then each person who wishes to speak, has their say about politics, and after this, a vote is taken, and the top three also become neighborhood representatives. The result is that the neighborhood will be represented by three people who probably have different viewpoints, plus one person selected by chance.
One will be the most articulate representative of the most prevalent point of view. One will be the best speaker of the next most prevalent point of view, and the third will most likely represent another point of view. The fourth will be the random selection, who usually will also represent the majority, but not always. Sometimes the random selection will represent an unusual point of view, and this is important, because in the Caucus, all points of view must have a hearing. It should also be noted that in different areas there will be large differences in what the prevalent points of view will be.
So the Caucus begins at the immediate neighborhood level. Depending upon the geography of where people live, this might be the adults living on a street, or perhaps one end of a street, or all of the adults living on a single floor of a high rise apartment building. In any event, it should be about 20 people living fairly near each other. As explained above, they will select 4 people to represent them at the next level of Caucus.
These people will then meet with those selected by their next immediate neighbors, and the process is repeated again. One is chosen at random, and after discussion, a vote is taken to pick out three more people as representatives at the next higher Caucus level. This process is repeated as needed, until you get at the Town level, where you will have your first election.
At the Town level you will need candidates for all of the Town Offices, plus people to serve as Caucus representatives in the higher levels of the Caucus. Actually, you will need three times as many people as are needed to ensure that they are plenty of candidates, and that all points of view are represented among them. The Election should happen one month after the ballot is submitted to the public, which is plenty of time for thinking and campaigning through public debates and discussions, which should be televised, and transcripts made available.
The Ballot should be set up as a matrix with Candidates all listed in alphabetical order in one column, and the possible positions listed across the top. Thus, you can vote for anybody listed for any one position. Some people may declare that they want to serve the Community at the local level, and that ought to make the election part of this much simpler. After this election, those elected to local offices, will assume their duties, and those selected by vote as representatives for higher level Caucuses will proceed to the County level Caucus, where the whole process is repeated again.
At the State level you will need Candidates for executive & judicial positions, plus candidates for two legislative bodies, and representatives for higher levels of the Caucus : Continental, and Planetary. I'm putting in Continental and Planetary levels of government, because I want to include the entire human race in the decision making process of government. You simply cannot have a corrupt ruling class making decisions for everybody else, when the general public always has the final say on all legislation through The Direct Vote, especially when governmental representatives are chosen by the general public through a Caucus process.
At the State and higher levels of Planetary government you will need two legislative bodies : A House & a Senate. I propose that the House be a legislative body composed of men, and that the Senate be a legislative body composed of women. This will ensure that any Bill to be submitted to the general public for a vote, be acceptable to both men and women, since our species has two sexes, who often are at odds with each other. (Now please forgive me for sticking in a joke in this rather dry piece of political theory : I'd like to call them the Men's Room, and the Ladies Lounge...)
Men & Women actually are of equal intelligence, and equally deserving of respect, and representation in the decision-making processes of government. However, men and women simply do not go about thinking in the same way, so it seems reasonable to me to take advantage of that fact by giving each an equal voice in government.
This system is somewhat complicated, as befits a complicated society, although the principles underlying it are simple enough. The entire process is slow, and will require much deliberation at every step by the general public, which is a good thing, because we should always think things out carefully, before doing anything. It's advantages lies in these facts :
A) That it is more representative than any other version of Democracy or Republic,
B) That it totally involves the entire population in the political process,
C) That it will provide a selection of able & informed cantidates for office, who would otherwise be overlooked,
D) That it ends the domination of the political process by rich special interests of a ruling class.
All these things taken together ensure a stable government, of the People, by the People, and for the People.
These animated Moving Mandalas are very large files. Please click on the pic, and wait for it to load. The Contemplation will be very enabling, carrying your Mind beyond the mundane world
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Political Philosophy
Here are a set of articles I've written about Political Philosophy. They are about explaining political processes from outside the Box
Beyond Left and Right
The Power Trip
The Three, Two, One Formula
The 4, 3, 2, 1 Formula
Corporate Democracy and the Language of the NeoCons
Nature Photo Galleries
Clouds 9
Clouds 10
2009 Summer Solstice Chalk Spiral
Clouds 15
Chalk It Up
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Politics Beyond Right & Left
SHAWN GALLAWAY - I CHOOSE LOVE
Most people think of Politics along a spectrum of Left to Right. Those terms originated from a seating arrangement that developed during the French Revolution. When I was in high school, back in the late 1960s, I got the idea that there was a second spectrum of political thinking at right angles to the first one, which together would make Politics a field. This second spectrum extends from Totalitarianism, (place that at the bottom) to Anarchism, (place that at the top).
Totalitarians believe that government should control everything, and that the general public should be slaves for their elite. This would make Hitler a right-wing totalitarian, and Stalin a left-wing totalitarian, and there sure wasn't much difference between the policies they enacted.
The Key thing in right-wing thinking is personal responsibility, and individual initiative. The Key thing in left-wing thinking is social responsibility, and collective organizing. I've never seen anything that would really be mutually exclusive about any of those ideas. As a matter of fact, I don't think you can have a healthy society without all of those things being considered, and in active play.
Now on the left-wing people are Environmentalists, but on the right-wing people are Conservationists. About the only differences between those two notions, are a couple of words... and as far as the general public is concerned, the terms are pretty much interchangable.
Have you figured out where I'm going with this yet?
Progressives are left-wing anti-totalitarians, and over on the right-wing, there are a whole bunch of Conservationists, who can't stand totalitarians either. These two groups really do have a tremendous lot in common, and what at core they feel diferently about is miniscule. (IMHO). Many times I've seen right-wing & left-wing groups get together for specific Environmental Causes. And just in the last "election", the Green Party, & Libertarian Party cantidates did some Civil Disobedience together, getting arrested by attempting to get into the "Presidential Debate".
There are two impulses in human nature that always recur, and are always present. One is that we like to compete with each other, and the other is that we also like to cooperate. As a matter of fact, none of us is ever really all that happy with ourselves or each other, except when we are doing both. This leads me to think that any social/political/economic arrangement that we make, can only be fruitful, when both of these natural impulses are satisfied.
So what we have here is a potential coalition, one so large that even a rigged election could not stop it. Note that at the top end of right-wing thinking, that they are real big on Free Enterprize, but they really don't like Monopoly Capitalism at all, because Monopoly Capitalism is totalitarian. A left-wing policy that allows for Free Enterprize, but which prevents the abuses & concentration of power of Monopoly Capitalism, would be quite acceptable to them.
So if we put together the best ideas of the top end of left-wing thinking, and the best ideas of the top end of right-wing thinking, then we have a complete package. I suspect that those ideas combined together, would be something much, much better than anything that either side of right & left has come up with so far. Moreover, it would also appeal greatly to the top end of the Center. And now we're talking about a majority that would change politics as usual forever...
These animated Moving Mandalas are very large files. Please click on the pic, and wait for it to load. The Contemplation will be very enabling, carrying your Mind beyond the mundane world
It's been a number of years since I wrote the above. What has changed, is that it is now the Totalitarians against all of the rest of us, the 99%
