Essays · Chapter
Means for Carrying the Proposed Plan Into Execution, and to Render It at the Same Time Conducive to the Public Interest explained
Paine outlines a detailed financial mechanism for implementing his proposed inheritance tax and national fund.
What happens
Paine outlines a detailed financial mechanism for implementing his proposed inheritance tax and national fund. Each canton elects commissioners to register property, and the principal heir of a deceased person must pay a tenth of the property's value into a national bank. The bank issues notes secured by these bonds, which are used to fund pensions for the aged and compensations for young adults. Paine emphasizes the security of the notes, backed by real property, and describes how the system will generate its own means of execution.
Themes in this chapter
Economic Justice and Agrarian Reform
Paine's plan for a 10% inheritance tax to fund pensions and youth compensations aims to redistribute wealth and support the public good.
Characters to notice
- Thomas Paine
Author of the chapter, presenting the execution plan for the inheritance tax and national fund.
Key passages
“The bank notes being thus put in circulation, upon the best of all possible security, that of actual property, to more than four times the amount of the bonds upon which the notes are issued, and with numéraire continually arriving at the bank to exchange or pay them off whenever they shall be presented for that purpose, they will acquire a permanent value in all parts of the Republic.”
Because the banknotes are backed by real property worth over four times the bonds they represent, and because cash constantly flows into the bank to redeem them, the notes will maintain stable value throughout the Republic.
Paine argues for the stability and trustworthiness of the proposed banknotes.