The Basics 

How to End PovertyA Quick and Easy Guide 

 howtoendpoverty.info

What if someone arbitrarily claimed all the oxygen in the universe as theirs? 

What would they charge you to breathe? Might they let you die if you  were not able to pay?

If I owned all the land on earth, and you had all the money, how much would I charge you for the very first night's rent?

A Spanish woman legally owns the sun. She is, legally speaking, entitled to charge everyone rent for all use of her "property".

Hot property: Angeles Duran, 49, with her notary office document that proves she is the legal owner of the sun.

A handful of other people own the moon...

If it seems strange to think of the sun and moon as property, how have we been conditioned to think of the earth differently? 

"In this world there is room for everyone. And the good earth is rich and can provide for everyone.

The way of life can be free and beautiful....

but we have lost the way...Greed has poisoned men's souls, has barricaded the world with hate, has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed."-Charlie Chaplin

Most of our problems stem from a misunderstanding of our place in the world, our relationship with land and the natural resources constituting it. 

People misattribute the source of their economic woes, needlessly fighting despite abundance.

No landlord, bank or otherwise, created the earth... 

Should any one person have the right to leech off the hard work of those who use the land for their survival? 

Despite our immense scientific and technological advancements, we continue to fail to save the 13,000 children who will starve by this time tomorrow. In fact, 50,000 innocent people die of poverty everyday. That is equivalent to sixteen September 11, 2001 disasters. 

We need systemic change...

We've been given two choices. 

This...

Even If we agree that the current system is relatively better, does that mean we have to accept its atrocities?  

...or this

Everyone agrees that something has got to

change...

Mainstream economists serve powerful interests by keeping us scared and confused. 

Confused? 

"I found a flaw in the model that I perceived is the critical functioning structure that defines how the world works, so to speak."-Allan Greenspan,Chairman of the American Federal Reserve from 1987-2006)

The "authorities" even admit they don't understand how the economy works! It could be that they're lying though...

For those who understand the importance of land, the economy is quite simple. 

Everyone knowsif you buy land and just wait...

You can grow rich while you  sleep...

Those who control land, control the inhabitants. 

It's no wonder that the word "landlord", used in medieval times, is still in common use today.

Banks and financial institutions are some of the biggest...

We all know what they've been up to...

. 

The earliest version of Monopoly was called "The Landlord's Game". 

Banks make risky loans because they know they can foreclose on people's dreams, taking back the land and its increasing value.

Banks loan out money they don't even have to accomplish this....

banking: 

There's a much deeper reason...

fractional reserves, CDOs, subprime mortgages, ARMs, etc are just the tip of the iceberg.

but...

Land...

To understand why poverty exists, why there is such a enormous gap between the rich and the poor, one has to understand the Law of Rent, discovered by the classical economist David Ricardo. It is one of the most important laws in economics, unanimously accepted. 

Don’t fret though; we’ll explain it very simply....

The Law of Rent in a Coconut Shell

Imagine an uninhabited island. There are three grades of land on this island. All things being equal, the best land yields three coconuts, the second best yields two, and the third yields one. 

The first settler, Wendy, stakes out all the best land for herself. 

A Short Story

The second settler, Bob, arrives, and is faced with two choices. He can  pay rent to Wendy or go to the next best grade of land rent-free. She can charge him no more than one coconut in rent, leaving him with two coconuts. If she charges more, he would be left with less than two coconuts after rent. He would instead opt for the next best land in order to keep more coconuts (2).  

The Law of Rent in a Coconut Shell

However, if she had fenced off the best grade of land (3 coconuts) and the second best (2 coconuts), she would be able to charge him two coconuts to work on the best land, simply because his next best option is one coconut (3-2=1). 

The Law of Rent in a Coconut Shell

Therefore, if Bob's next best option continually becomes worse, Wendy can continue to charge him higher rents. 

The Law of Rent in a Coconut Shell

Even though Wendy had extra land she was not using, and nothing else changed but the fact that worse land became the next best option for settlers, Wendy could charge higher rent. In fact, all landlords can, and they do. 

The Law of Rent in a Coconut Shell

It's either own land or be owned yourself...

         The  next best land option is  called the margin of production.

The more high quality land that is held out of use, the lower the margin of production (the worse the next best option). 

..

A low margin of production means it's time for landlords to feast on your wages.The more high quality land they under use or hold out of use, the larger the feast.

Why should we let them steal the products of our hard work (coconuts/wages), our right to use the earth and provide for ourselves? 

Everyone has a right to the earth, a right to its bountiful fruits so often hoarded...

Can we raise the margin of production?  

 We can and we must! 

For them...

Here comes the remedy!

Quite simply, the remedy is to end all taxes, except for a single tax on land values. The owners of the best land would have to pay higher taxes. • This would mean they

would want to take less of the best land, to lower their taxes, thus making room for others.

• This raises the margin of production.

You mean if I didn't own land I wouldn't have to pay taxes? 

Correct!

The Law of Rent stipulates that such a tax can not be passed on from landlords to tenants. This is because with the spur to pay the land value tax, landlords would compete with each other for tenants by charging the lowest rents. Simultaneously, everyone's productive behavior would be completely un-taxed/unpunished and market efficiency would improve by orders of magnitude.

The way it is now... taxes are on buildingsThose who build new and fix up old structures, making more room for people on the best land, are punished with higher taxes. 

                                                                                       

 savingcommunities.org 

Instead, tax land only...

Everyone pays a tax based on their land value. No one is punished for fixing their homes or businesses. 

 savingcommunities.org 

Under this system a person is rewarded for what they make, not what they take. 

Take as little of the best land as possible, so that there is room for others (raising the margin of production), and keep everything you earn!  

This is a great incentive for working and sharing so that all of us are better off!

What reason is there to fight over the gifts of nature when we agree that everyone has equal rights to them? We can maintain individual property rights by way of merit without hoarding our common resource. 

...to share in the bountiful fruits of our planet in love and peace with one another. 

howtoendpoverty.info

howtoendpoverty.info