So, I’m not paying the rent!

The national government does not need to borrow money! It may spend on any essential objective, including a universal income. In fact, a universal income is actually ‘funded’ by being a direct deduction from currently stolen economic rents.

Stephen Zarlenga approvingly cited Henry George’s understanding of money here (in the second half).

As the financial crunch approaches–next year?–decisive policy action will be required—specifically, federal Treasury’s implementation of VIMMLBUTT: a lonely, but the only, effective proposition.

Is Treasury up for it?

#VIMMLBUTT

(Continued)

Land values provide a massive, untapped source of public revenue that can completely replace traditional taxes. Following classical economic theory established by John Locke, we know that all taxes ultimately fall on land values, meaning the argument that there isn’t enough rent to replace existing taxes is false.

Shifting to this model is critical because taxing incomes and consumption distorts the economy and drives up prices. In contrast, taxing land and natural resource rents creates zero excess burden (deadweight loss).

While it is hard to calculate exactly how much taxes inflate daily living expenses, the sheer scale of uncollected rent is clear: Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Table 61 shows Australia’s total land prices, the private capitalisation of publicly-generated land rent, reached $10 trillion in 2025, which breaks down to an incredible $375,000 for every citizen.

Maybe we’ll address and repair these terrible socioeconomic corruptions at the next financial crunch?

DR GARRICK SMALL

And, most of all, Australians lose $669 billion a year in quite unnecessary government bonds, superannuation and land prices (in mortgages).

The breakup of the $669 billion? $125 billion in government bonds; $220.8 billion in superannuation, and; $323.2 billion in land prices in mortgages. (i.e. Were we to capture 100% of publicly-generated land rents, instead of fining purchases and earned incomes, land prices could be zero!)

We could deliver a very good universal income by abolishing the government bonds, superannuation and land prices that have ‘financialised’ us all!

In the next depression, don’t bail out banks—nationalise their equity.

Replace income and sales taxes with a universal income funded entirely by capturing economic rents. It’s simply a direct deduction from currently misappropriated rents.

There’s sufficient rent, because all taxes and their excess burden come from rent. [ATCOR and EBCOR]