UNIMPROVED VALUES.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXII, Issue 95, 23 April 1901, Page 2

UNIMPROVED VALUES.

(To tho Editor.)

Sir,—Political economy has been termed the "dismal science." simply because men have not seen the whole, of the picture. At one time 1 thought that the "values" in the world not represented in labour products were a curse to mankind, and the cause of all poverty, on account of unimproved, and all monopoly values being freely exchanged for labour products, but when I saw the whole picture I found that the machine was beautifully constructed and exactly adapted for the use of man in his present state of development. Man being at enmity with his fellow* man could never have, emerged from barbarism to our present state of civilisation without spare values. If only labour products had been exchanged, there could have been no civilisation. Spare values enabled man to develop "knowledge" and "power," and to carry it on from generation to generation. The power of money —as we call it—is simply "spare values" being-' used as money, or more correctly speaking, money or coin is used to conyev spare values from individual to individual. Coin itself has no more power in the world than its value in coals. Measured by utility, its present value is almost nil— so far as its share taken in contributing to human happiness. A child is born without knowledge, but owing to its development is more or less adapted to receive knowledge. At our present stage of development we could not make any progress without spare values, on account of the inborn natural selfishness of the human animal. If any of us, or even a whole nation, were so changed that its highest "ideal" would be to minister to the desires of others; if they applied all their available energy to the production of labour products; if they produced in abundance until the world was filled with products that no one would, or could use, there would be no thanks or gratitude given to those who had worked to produce the wealth required. In fact, as man is at present constituted, the workers would be treated as the "fools" of creation. With "land value" available for exchange, and laws to protect individual property in land, the industrious members of society have spare value to win. They purchase the right to get into a position which enables them to retire and allow others to take a share in the production of the wealth that the retired person, or late worker, consumes. In a new colony like this we can trace our prosperity back to the production of spare values which we sell to the inhabitants of older lands. It would 'be an eye opener to many people if we had a correct statement of the "value" that has been produced in the form of labour products in this colony, and the "value" that has been created without any labour ou the part of the colonists. Our gold mining shares have a worldwide value which gives us colonists a "power" that is world-wide. The mining shares in many jcases are entirely represented in the unimproved and speculative vahie of the land which is supposed to contain the yellow metal that we use to adjust small debts. I do not say that rating on the unimproved value will cause any great friction in our social system, other than to make the rich richer, and the poor poorer, because the amount raised for taxation purposes is not great in this j colony. But I feei sure that it would be better for us to tax "rent" by taxing the people who are at present drawing rent from the whole community. In -a former letter my pen run riot when I said that shelters should be "taxed out of existence." If I had the management of the laws—natural and artificial —and conditions by which human beings are governed, I should as fast as possible abolish all taxation. Endowments are the best means of raising money for public purposes, but as far as possible all State departments should be made to pay their way by charging for services rendered. Endowments are a safe way of raising revenue, but taxation destroys spare values at times when they are urgently required to amalgamate with the values of labour products in order that wages and other obligations can be paid. In other words taxation tends to bring* on depression or low rent! and low wages, while revenue derived from endowments is not a burden to anybody, and causes no friction or suffering to anybody, such as is felt when sftiy change is made in the mode of taking money from individuals for public purposes.—l am, etc., A SANDFORD.