Edward Dodson

Requires an ongoing commitment to communicate with elected officials, the print media, activist groups concerned with sprawl, community revitalization and efficient use of land. This seemingly minor change in tax policy will do more to stem sprawling development than any land use restriction or planning measure. I chose it because of what I have learned over nearly five decades about the destructive character of the conventional property tax.

Access to land (to nature) is essential to human life. The failure to require those who control land to compensate the community for the privilege of controlling land to the exclusion of others has resulted in gross abuse and misuse of nature. Much of nature is today monopolized by a small minority of the world's population. Land prices skyrocket because land is treated as a main source of speculation for profit. Ideally, all control of land ought to be by competitive bidding for a leasehold estate, the "ground rent" paid to the community. Where private deeds are the norm, the annual tax on land held should equal its potential ground rent value. I have worked on this issue for forty years because it is the key to the solution of most of the planet's most serious social, economic, political and environmental problems. The solution is legislative action in every community and at every level of government.