There are many ways to look at the world, as it is, as it was and as it could be. If you look at the world as is was you need to find some very common elements which all societies need to live and evolve. A very interesting book is called Salt – A World History written by Mark Kurlansky published by Walker and Company, NY, 2002. For generations of people, the table salt which is found on the dining room tables in the world was one of the most important drivers of the world economy. Although salt is found almost everywhere in the world which we know about, for centuries salt was desperately searched for, traded for and fought for. For millennia, salt represented wealth. One of the ways government’s of the day raised funds was a salt tax and one of the commodities which traders moved was salt.

Not so long ago, almost every family made preserves of food and meat for the winter, now we go to the supermarket, but if you begin to think how people lived, in order to keep vegetables and meat over the winter, salt was critical. This meant many governments put tax on the amount of salt that people used and it was one of the most important revenue sources they had. In China, the salt tax had been going on for centuries and in 81 BC, Emperor Zhaodi invited 60 of the wisest people in China to debate administrative policies – what emerged was a contest between Confucianism and legalism over the responsibilities of good government. On the Confucians side, the question was why must your Majesty use the word profit?  On the legal side, the question was not what was moral, but practical. If you want a government with the ability to defend its border, you need money. The debate ended in a draw, but the salt tax continued.

Throughout the centuries the debate by the government need for profits (revenues), the rights and obligations of nobility (wealthy people), aid to the poor, the importance of a balanced budget, the appropriate tax burden, the risk of anarchy and the dividing line between rule and tyranny have and continue to be unresolved issues.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, the issues and concerns of people do not change a great deal, the ebbs and flows all continue. In the case of the salt tax it was replaced by income tax for salt is available but a short time ago, salt was a factor in everyday life.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising a question.