To BBC Business News on Facebook:
A team of scientists, Robert Costanza, et al -- in 1997, estimated the value of natural resource wealth at about $33 trillion per year. If we were to charge fees to those who take natural resources or put pollution, then share the proceeds of these fees equally, this estimate suggests that each person might receive about $600 per month. Of course, this estimate was an estimate only. Some things were left out of the calculus because they were just too hard to put a number on. And we might decide to NOT give the money for personal use only. We might eliminate or significantly reduce other taxes, but require each citizen to put a portion of their share of the proceeds from environmental impact fees toward public programs that they deem (and that a large fraction of other citizens believe) are worthy of public support. It is likely that abusive police forces or inadequate schools would NOT qualify to receive funds under such a system, since relatively few people would say that they promote the public interest. In this way, we could respect PUBLIC property rights (equal sharing of natural wealth) along with private property rights, and thereby end extreme poverty in the world AND manage environmental impacts in the most efficient and fair way.
http://gaiabrain.blogspot.com/
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