Global Resource Agency for Land Rent and Dividends

The Proposal

Alanna Harzok:

"A Global Resource Agency, similar to the Alaska Permanent Fund, could collect global resource rents for distribution and investment. This would provide a stable source of finance for UN expenditures for peacekeeping, environmental preservation and restoration, and to finance justice institutions such as the World Court and the International Criminal Court. Some of the revenue might be distributed to all nations according to their populations, reflecting the right of every person in the world to a "global citizen's income" based on an equal share of the value of global resources.

A Global Resource Agency with this mandate would:

• encourage sustainable development worldwide;

• provide substantial financial transfers to developing countries by right and without strings, as payments by the rich countries for their disproportionate use of world resources;

• help to liberate developing countries from their present dependence on aid, foreign loans and financial institutions which are dominated by the rich countries;

• reduce the risk of another Third World debt crisis; and

• recognise the shared status of all human beings as citizens of the world.

This land ethic and policy has potential to benefit all and has deep roots in the history of economic justice. A full Jubilee 2000 and beyond plan would not only reduce or eliminate debt, but would also promote systemic reforms in land tenure and taxation. This is the kind of "structural adjustment" the people of the world really need.

The Financing for Development process could further this tax shift approach by (1) worldwide education and information, (2) encouragement of implementation on the local and national level, and (3) creation of a body of experts to assist with the transition to this policy. " (http://www.earthrights.net/docs/fin4devt.html)