Saturday, November 22, 2014

No "Maker" or "Taker" Designations Necessary

...After all, communities which internalize time use aggregates for local production and services, would be able to ensure that citizens become one and the same. In my last post, I posed a question: Why are citizens and policy makers inclined to apply "maker" versus "taker" identities in struggles over government benefits, instead of providing more accessible means for economic prosperity?

Even though some Republicans are quick to point to the "takers" of society, the fact remains that plenty of "makers" have been able to strengthen their hand for a long time, with government's help. Some markets become quite lucrative when limits to entry are imposed. But eventually, it's a process which eventually begins to exclude further economic formation. Hence knowledge use limits have plenty of bearing, as to why some takers players are in a bind with scarcely any cards left in the game of life.

Granted, many prosperous areas in the U.S. do not have enough room to bring in new citizens and productive endeavor. In some instances, local citizens should not be expected to greatly increase population density, given previous commitments for the environmental definition they already have. This is particularly true, where unique geographic formation has lead to higher and more complex services valuations. But many open spaces exist in the U.S., where new starts or "games" would be possible. Primary knowledge use need not be limited, to the main economic regions of the present.

By "growing" the pie - i.e. knowledge use marketplace along new margins - citizens need not be threatened by anyone - including immigrants - who still seek economic entry. Exit and voice can be generated in new settings which do not directly compete with the old. This could broaden the horizons and wealth potential of anyone who lacks ability to gain entry, elsewhere.

In these new settings, monetary compensation for services coordination, would serve multiple purposes. How so? Those who gain a place to start anew, have a chance to escape other less positive identities which often impose burdens on government budgets.

Consider the services approach for municipalities in the present. Economic complexity in this regard is often lacking, with the exception of primary economic regions and cities. Otherwise, local economies face a series of constraints which limit them to the most basic services levels. (High skills use thus far is mostly possible in areas with international monetary flows.) This has left most local economies dependent on adjacent regions, for both services access and wealth holdings (especially housing) that result from earlier income. With coordinated time use aggregates, a considerable amount of dependence could eventually be relieved.

What are the primary existing service obligations in any community? In the U.S. the first is most often public schooling. After that comes public safety (police, fire, emergency medical), then roads, sewer and water. By far, the biggest expense for these is operating and maintenance budget in the form of salaries. Whereas capital (what one thinks of as infrastructure) is in single digits. Much infrastructure expense in capital terms occurs very seldom, and has little assistance from state or federal levels.

How to think about monetary flows, in terms of what needs regular attention? Thus far in the U.S. public schooling has especially relied on property taxation, while other services (most often) utilize sales taxes. The good news in this regard? These ongoing expenses are salary related, and internalized compensation for local services generation would make much of the taxation to services transfer unnecessary - particularly for property taxation. Directly matched time as new wealth creation, makes a more complete services agenda possible. In other words, by turning time arbitrage into a starting point, a whole range of services formation becomes possible which otherwise could not be sustained in small communities.

What's more, the services-as-wealth process leaves resource windfalls available, for the materials most needed for infrastructure building and maintenance. That means windfalls become recognizable as the random benefit they actually are. Why is this important? Windfalls would not be grabbed for the constant needs of time use, nor would locals be regularly taxed for monetary flows they simply may not have in the present. Like so many other things in life, optimal income gains will remain random in nature, even when societies organize to make certain their members are economically included.

Resource windfalls - if truly appreciated - have the potential to create and maintain the economic paths best suited for those bearing responsibility for community.  Infrastructure options exists along a wide spectrum of possibility. That also translates into multiple density and work/living options. Some would require more investment than others and - as a result - represent more commitment and fixed resource use. It is probably a good idea to "sample" some areas with portable infrastructure and flexible time use commitments, to see if the proposed working and living environments prove viable.

Every community needs to generate ongoing monetary flows on the part of all its citizens. However, the present task is to find more efficient and considered ways of doing so. Too much emphasis has been placed on schooling for instance, with too little societal reward - or follow up plans - for the effort. Internal time use coordination among locals means not every home needs to be a resource intensive structure. Since fewer taxes would be necessary to generate needed infrastructure maintenance, considerable flexibility would be possible for work/life options.

Voting mechanisms for local citizens would take place in stages. Initial votes for new community would take place in a series of domestic summits, in order to match like minded individuals (and families) for common preferences in terms of infrastructure and desired community amenities. At the same time, a broad framework would be sketched out for initial commitments for services and production formation. After communities are formed, ongoing voting processes during the course of the year would calendar time use proposals for both services and production projects.

One goal would be to make certain that no individual becomes pigeonholed into certain activity sets just because of competitive advantage, or a perceived lack of skills elsewhere. Everyone lives a healthier life - whether relatively high or low skilled - when not required to perform a given task beyond a certain point of natural tolerance. So long as anyone seeks new work challenges, coordinated time use makes those challenges possible. The only reason society ended up with makers and takers is because of a lack of imagination. Fortunately, this arbitrary designation can be overcome.

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