Libertarian or Conservative, I just want my citizen dividend back

Libertarian or Conservative, I just want my citizen dividend back.

The Pragmatic Libertarian Case for a Basic Income GuaranteeBy Matt Zwolinski Lead Essay August 4, 2014

The Conservative Case for a Guaranteed Basic IncomeCreating a wage floor is an effective way to fight poverty—and it would reduce government spending and intrusion. NOAH GORDONAUG 6 2014

It's mine. It belongs to me because I own the country. Together with all the other citizens.

The government or state or politicians have no rights to confiscate it.

Unlike taxes with specific tax laws, there is not a single law around for the government to confiscate our citizen dividend.

For example, in South Africa, it is explicitly written in their laws (Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act) that
1. The resources belong to all the people of South Africa.
2. The state is a custodian
3. The state has to provide equitable access to the nation’s mineral and petroleum resources to all the people of South Africa.

Nowhere does the law say the state can simply take the resources revenue and dump it into the government's operating budget.

It certainly looks possible for any South African to demand an equitable share of his or her resources, i.e., a citizen dividend.

Here are the relevant parts from the Act.

Citizen dividend for South Africa

1. South Africa legally recognizes that natural resources belong to the people.

This is the most important statement for a potential citizen ownership democracy. People own the country and all its resources that had not been sold or leased to private entities.

Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act, 2002.3. (1) Mineral and petroleum resources are the common heritage of all the people of South Africa and the State is the custodian thereof for the benefit of all South Africans.

2. The resources do not belong to the state. The state is only an agent of the people. In this case, the state is given the role of the custodian of the resources.

This is also a very important statement. A custodian is entrusted by someone to hold properties for safekeeping. A custodian is not supposed to spend or use those properties. A custodian certainly can return the properties back to their original owners. Currently, almost all states assume that they are owners of the resources, which is very bad for the people.

3. Section 3(2) authorizes the Minister to collect fees and other payments for the resources.

So, money is coming in from the people's resources.

4. Section 3(3) requires the Minister to promote economic and social development.

The law is ambiguous on how the Minister is to use the money for promoting economic and social development "for the benefit of all South Africans". It does not explicitly deny a citizen dividend and it does not explicitly propose a citizen dividend.

The question is how can a Minister, as a custodian of all the South Africa people, use the resource money in a way that benefits equally each and every one of the 53 million South Africans, spread over 1 million sq km. If the Minister cannot do that, he will be violating the trust of the people to be their custodian.

The only solution that will benefit equally every South African is an unconditional distribution of an equal amount to every South African. This is the citizen dividend that comes from ownership of your country.

Rights of all Citizens - from Ubuntu Party, South Africa

What does the Ubuntu Party of South Africa say about citizen ownership?

This is what they have:

"Rights of all Citizens

LET US RESTORE THE RIGHTS OF THE PEOPLE
TO THE PEOPLE

· The country belongs to its people
· The land and the water belongs to its people
· The forests belongs to the people
· The rivers and lakes and oceans belong to the people
· The gold, the platinum and all other minerals in the ground belong to the people
· The coal and diamonds belong to the people
· Everything that grows on the land belongs to the people
· The beaches, the mountains and the skies above belong to the people
· The wild animals belong to the planet and we are their protectors

These things DO NOT belong to the politicians, the government, or any corporation who has unlawfully claimed exclusive rights over it. The government was appointed by the people to do the best for the people – They have failed the people dramatically on every level.

The government has stolen the country from its people.
We, the people need to take it back."

These statements resonate with the ideals of a citizen-ownership democracy. A citizen-ownership democracy does not exclude private ownership. See the comparison current democracy and citizen-ownership democracy here.

What is more important is that the rights proclamation should not remain a slogan. It should be translated into regular income for every citizen, as seen in Alaska, which has a partial citizen-ownership democracy.