by Pops » Sat 18 Jul 2015, 11:16:57
I wrote this 3 or 4 time and it always comes out as forced collapse, induced coma to save the patient, LoL
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I would increase wellhead, mine-gate, stumpage, commodity-farm-gate and whatever other raw resource tax astronomically.
Just to make sure things crashed localized, I'd implement a tariff on transportation of just about everything. Some basic commodities would be exempt for a while as ag and industry re-localized. That of course is the goal, relocalize, get small and resilient. Rather than one global economy, a myriad of small economies, so very little global transport and very much a local and regional economy.
People could go wherever they liked, but they would probably be taking the scenic route on foot. I'd encourage localities to come up with their own forms of government but I'd bomb the hell out of them if they started squabbling.
Then, if I was still around, I would really be feeling my power, so:
I'd end conglomerates and transnational corps (if the above doesn't kill them) and maybe even corps altogether and make the biggest "entity" general partnerships. Don't need anything too big because markets won't be very big, limited by transport as they are.
I'd close the pinstripe casinos and end all trading by anyone other than commercial participants in commodities. Since there would be no corporate persons, there would be no stock markets as such, but perhaps there would be a "market" for partnerships. Of course in a partnership each partner is liable for the actions of the company so not much appeal there for the passive investor — which of course it the point, make owners responsible.
I probably wouldn't have to end the big banks but after the dust settled and they hadn't all failed, I'd finish it. For the most part borrowing would be passé at any rate and with the end of speculation and corporation so would the commissions. So really there would not be much for them to do except man the safe.
I'd make one universal currency, (call 'em PopTarts because they are forever) and back them with gold because the point would be deflating the economy and that's what a unmovable currency is good at.
Other smaller things would be encouraging folks to pack in just as tightly as possible into the cities, penalize for kids rather than reward for them, and limit the workweek to some small number to spread what work there was left around. No welfare but you could work for me to keep from starving.
So in the end (when they lynched me) all the frameworks of private property ownership would still be in place, and markets would have started to localize around dense cities—and dense cities make for fewer kids. FF and the remaining raw materials would still be available for the most important uses (whatever that might be — torching me probably one) and certainly local recycling and production would be booming.
The legitimate object of government, is to do for a community of people, whatever they need to have done, but can not do, at all, or can not, so well do, for themselves -- in their separate, and individual capacities.
-- Abraham Lincoln, Fragment on Government (July 1, 1854)