But here in America, and the rest of the world, a consumption based economy
is out of control. The more it gets out of control the better, according to
the 'ever expanding economy myth'. A reason for this is the skewed way we
measure economic growth. According to the major economic indicator, the
gross domestic product (GDP), any monitory transaction or sale is considered
good. It doesn't matter if the transaction has a positive or negative effect
on society, as long as it is counted in the GDP.
That means that when a million sow farming operation with a million gallon
manure sewerage pit is built, and ruptures, and pollutes, and a superfund
site is created; time and energy and resources are used to clean up the
mess, people get sick and need medical attention, this is all considered
good! It has spurred the economy! Never mind the consequences, never mind
ruined fisheries and jobs, never mind the cost to the ecosystem, never mind
the affects on the lives of the people effected, never mind the cost to
society, this is a good thing...the economy has expanded! How perverse, how
corrupt, how evil!
Most of the subsidies and incentives in place today operate on the above
principle...expand the economy. We treat the planet as if it were a
business in liquidation. Add to this, the unrecognized cost of pollution
and the scenario becomes even more bleak. This is extremely short sighted
and will eventually end in catastrophe.
Part of the reason it is so difficult for an ecologiclly based family farm
to compete with conventional chemical agribusiness, is because the cost
analysis of there operation does not take into account the pollution they
cause or the subsidies they receive. Resource use and pollution taxes are
means to impose a cost to actions that have a negative cost to society and
the environment. In the case of pollution taxes, an incentive not to
pollute, and in the case of resource tax, a reason not to consume. This
provides a mechanism to assess damages for the unrecognized (or
'externalized') costs of production by chemical agriculture.
I don't necessarily care if it isn't good for the local or global economies.
These taxes help to impart a more accurate fee for reckless and greedy
operations. These taxes would help access a true cost for production, and
thereby make sustainable alternatives cost effective.
These taxes allow a responsible sustainable farmer to compete on a level
playing field.
The predicament we find ourselves in did not happen overnight, and our
solution will not happen over night. It happened slowly, little by little,
incrementally. And that's how it can be changed...incrementally. Any
taxation plan would have to be implemented incrementally. That way
businesses and industry will be able to plan and make the necessary changes.
It has been suggested that the tax system stay revenue neutral. The new
incentive taxes on things we don't want, would be used to off-set a decrease
in taxes on things we do want, payroll and income. This would help shift
our economy from consumer oriented, to service oriented. I personally
believe a portion of the revenue generated by these new incentive taxes,
should be used for environmental good, i.e., purchase of development rights,
pollution mitigation, mass transit, environmental research, and such.
Greg... Prairie Dock Farm
Ch ch ch ch changes!,
Turn and face the strange,
Ch ch changes!,
Oooo lookout, you rock and rollers.
Ch ch ch ch changes!,
Turn and face the strange,
Ch ch changes!,
Pretty soon now your gonna get older!
Time may change me, but you can't trace time.
I said that time may change me, but you can't trace time.
David Bowie
Sources:
-Redefining Progress www.rprogess.org
--Tax Waste, Not Work... How Changing What We Tax Can Lead to a Stronger
Economy and a Cleaner Environment
--If The Economy is Up, Why Am I So Down? (<--this is short and sweet)
-Northwest Environment Watch www.northwestwatch.org/
Tax Shift... How to Help the Economy, Improve the Environment, and Get the
Tax Man off Our Backs
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