AN OPEN LETTER TO
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
NEWT GINGRICH
Nov. 6, 1995 To: Newt Gingrich, Speaker U.S. House of Representatives 2428 Rayburn House Office Bldg. Washington, DC 20515-1006 From: Daniel Ross 424 S. 7th St. Las Vegas,NV 89101-6902 phone (702)388-0924 Internet danross@netcom.com Dear Mr. Speaker: I think that Congress and the federal regulatory agencies have been wasting the taxpayers' time and money, just puttering around by selling out minor assets like the radio spectrum, the health care system, and the national park system. The government's financial problems could be ended once and for all by selling out some really major assets instead. Here are some examples of assets to sell: 1. The atmosphere. I am confident that private enterprise would be willing to pay an enormous sum to own the atmosphere. They then could charge each resident a fee for breathing. People certainly derive personal benefit from breathing; why should they not be expected to pay a user fee? People unable or unwilling to pay should either abstain from breathing, or else breathe imported air and export their exhalations. Leftist socialist liberal communists may raise 2 objections to this plan, but there exist ample legal precedents to refute their objections. The objections would be: Objection: Use of the atmosphere always has been free in the past. Refutation: Use of the land in North America always had been free until the arrival of the first European settlers, who did not hesitate to appropriate the land into their private ownership. Objection: Americans are guaranteed life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Breathing is essential for maintaining life. Refutation: Breathing is no more essential for life than is food, and food is not free. Side issue: Motor vehicles also alter the atmosphere, but presumably that is subsumed in the gasoline or diesel fuel tax. Side issue: Immigrants could be denied breathing privileges for their first 3 years of residence. In this way, the United States could maintain a generous policy of permitting immigration, yet still not be overwhelmed by a huge influx of foreigners. 2. The audio spectrum. Any person or thing which emits any audible sound would be required to pay rental to the new owners. The owners would be permitted to offer a choice of flat-rate rental, or rental on a per-sound basis. Non-payers would have to be silent ... absolutely silent. The penalty for non-compliance could be made very stiff. For example, tall trees in national forests which creak or sigh in the wind without authorization and payment by the Forest Service, could be cut down and sold for lumber. 3. Time. The entire future could be partitioned into intervals of varying duration, and auctioned to the highest bidder. Then, for example, anyone who wishes to exist in the interval from June 3, 1996 10:17 AM to June 3, 1996 10:18 AM would have to pay a fee to the owner of that interval. The examples above should suffice to convince you that the largest sources of potential revenue to our government have yet to be tapped, and that the opportunities for privatization have not been explored adequately. Keep up the good work of changing government as we know it. Still a citizen, Daniel Ross