Because of the cost of labour a lot of effort has been put into minimizing labour at the cost of capital (resources, automation etc). This again puts a negative

Because of the cost of labour a lot of effort has been put into minimizing labour at the cost of capital (resources, automation etc). This again puts a negative pressure on wages as one would otherwise be automated away. By making labour cheaper there is less incentive to minimize labour at the cost of resource use (e.g. disposable products vs reusable ones that need maintenance). More demand for labour should increase wages for lower skilled labour. Less people would "drop out of the ratrace" so to say, as there is more demand for them. There is already implicit recognition for this in Europe. In the Netherlands it is very acceptable (albeit illegal) to not pay taxes for a cleaning lady. In Belgium there is asystem where everyone can get a few hours of subsidised household a week that negates the tax pressure, etc. But instead of all these small adjustments to make the tax system workable I would love there to be a wider debate on what the grounds for taxation should be. In my proposal you get taxed for what you consume in resources and land use, regardless what you use it for. I think that would be a pretty fair premise to start with, and perhaps a few exemptions are needed to make it work.