Welcome aboard to new subscribers Yisroel Pensack (writer/editor),
Jeff Strang (Portland OR building inspector), and Frank Walker
(California analyst). If any reader knows of anyone who should also be
a reader, please do put them in touch. This month begins with debate
over the biggest bailout in US, if not world, history, and ends with
an event far less scary -- Halloween. May the turmoil not drown out
the progress readable below.
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CONTENTS:
1. News: Results of Japan's and Sweden's bailouts, and of DNA research
2. Numbers: All about the enduring real estate cycle
3. Good Press: Christian Science Monitor, UK's Financial Times,
The Guardian, The New York Times, & three others
4. Movement Progress: A couple more freedom seekers
5. Corrections: Elder's age
6. Letters: Nickerson on indicators; Dodson on avoiding bailouts
7. Likable links: SCI; AMI
8. What You Can Do: Order new books; Rate sites; Attend conferences
9. At the Margin: Quips and Quotes
10. Publication affairs: Contributors, About the Georgist News
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1a. News: Results of Japan's and Sweden's bailouts, and of DNA research
While the mainstream media limits analysis of Wall Street's meltdown
and eschews the fundamental cause, still, some informative stories
from conventional sources are made available to readers of the
Progress Report, http://www.progress.org/. For example:
Sr Editor Fred Foldvary turns the bailout right-side-up and shows the
advantages of making it egalitarian.
The AP's business writer notes that the bitter pill of a bailout may
be very sour with not many medicinal properties. What the US
government can't buy for $700 billion.
Boo! The Bushites are railroading us just like they did into the Iraq
War. Hear those who demand not strings but no bailout. To bail or not
to bail -- that should be the question
Die-hard liberals and conservatives aren't made; they're born,
scientists say. Good. Both sides have liked geonomics. Are you a born
conservative (or liberal)?
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2. Numbers: All about the enduring real estate cycle
While the mainstream media reports the home price decline, if you want
to know the historical and ongoing context, check out the Progress
Report. For example:
Goldman Sachs insiders lose billions yet win power -- foxes guarding
the hen house -- as losses keep mounting. Public dollars are already
lining speculator pockets on Wall Street
UC Prof Mason Gaffney reveals where the current economic bust
originated -- in the backyards sprawled over California. The Great
Crash of 2008
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3a. Good Press: Christian Science Monitor
A US newspaper with a national circulation, printed this on 9/11:
TAX LAND, NOT BUILDINGS
In response to Bob Doppelt's Aug. 27 Opinion piece, "The greatest
failure of thought in human history": What many miss is the role of
public revenue. Every environmental problem we oppose, we subsidize.
Why do people make unsustainable choices? Prices tell them to. By
taxing and spending, governments make coal power cheaper than wind
power, etc.
Higher "land dues" on prime sites draw development centerward,
reversing sprawl. That spares farmland. Cities become walkable and
less polluting. Plus, de-taxing buildings lets homeowners make
improvements that save energy.
Shifting the property tax in particular and the flow of public revenue
in general is the sort of policy imperative one arrives at when
employing "systems thinking" systemically.
Jeffery J. Smith, Portland, Ore.
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3b. Good Press: Financial Times once
The British equivalent of the WSJ on September 16, 2008:
Land behaves differently too
Asset price bubbles in financial markets undoubtedly show that money
capital as a factor of production does not behave like consumer goods
in a free market ("Capitalism and the credit crunch", Samuel Brittan,
September 12). Nor does land, as the present housing crisis so
manifestly proves.
Since land is not produced, its price is almost entirely demand
determined; hence demand changes act almost entirely on price without
affecting supply. The disastrous effect of this in the housing market
is only too evident, for it is the land price element in "house"
prices that fluctuates so much, not the cost of the building.
How much more evidence is needed that a tax on land values to reduce
land prices permanently and, at the same time, to relieve taxes on
things that really are produced, such as consumer goods and real
capital, is the right way to make competitive capitalism work?
Brian Hodgkinson, Oxford, UK
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3c. Good Press: Financial Times twice again
via Nicholas Shaxson, September 18, 2008
Martin Wolf on land value in the FT:
"What it can do, instead, is facilitate the development of new systems
of finance, such as covered bonds. What it can also do is consider
land-value taxation as an alternative to other property taxes."
There is no more influential commentator in the United Kingdom than
Martin Wolf!
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3d. Good Press: The Guardian saw Carol!
via Joshua Vincent, Henry George Foundation USA/Center for the Study
of Economics
A (UK) Guardian blogger on September 24, 2008:
"Among those there was Carol Wilcox, from Christchurch CLP, a platform
speaker at Labour (who said, 'Don't tell my delegation; they'll go
nuts,' during the economic debate on the previous day, who came to
push her case for a land tax."
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3e. Good Press: The New York Times
via Wyn Achenbaum
On September 19, America's unofficial newspaper of record ran a long
story on the Georgist colony, Fairhope, by Chris Dixon, "Building on a
Foundation of Utopian Principles".
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3f. Good Press: The Chronicle of Higher Ed
via Mason Gaffney, UC Riverside econ prof.
m.gaffney at dslextreme.com, September 27, 2008
I got a little blurb into the forthcoming Chronicle of Higher Ed.,
which they excerpted from my hasty submission. I hate meeting short
deadlines, but you gotta seize your chances when they come along.
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3g. Good Press: San Francisco blogger, Radio Free Mike
by Michael Scott Moore, via Yisroel Pensack,
recruited by David Giesen; September 26, 2008
I'm trying to introduce Georgism as a concept to my readers (only
about 200 per day) and let the rest of you discuss how George is
pertinent to the credit crunch on my blog, Radio Free Mike. I've
written an introduction:
"A few new countries are flirting with Georgism. Estonia has raised
local revenue the Henry George way since 1991; the Czech Republic and
Latvia are preparing tax systems based on his model now. The "Henry
George way" means taxing the value of land -- not the buildings, just
the lots -- with the underlying idea that land belongs to the people,
so rent charged for its use should naturally go to a public fund."
If this list wants to have a public discussion, by all means pile in.
You'd be addressing a liberal-minded audience with almost no clue
about Henry George. But if we stick to introductory concepts, we can
get the basic stuff out:
http://radiofreemike.com/blog/elephant-in-the-room
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3h. Good Press: Alliance for Democracy - Portland OR Chapter
Director David Delk told his extensive e-list to see Jeffery Smith's
suggestions on a couple of reforms that might make a difference.
(1) give home buyers leverage to re-negotiate; require anyone
foreclosing to first pay all of the mortgager's back taxes and
future property taxes for one year,
and
(2) get money into the pockets of the populace, not the elite:
shift the property tax off buildings, onto land, (this will be
counterintuitive but it works where tried) raise the rate on land
high enough to recover the full annual market of land, then use
that pooled public revenue to pay residents a dividend or Housing
Voucher (a la Aspen CO).
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4. Movement Progress: Another couple of freedom seekers
Brian Holtz, software engineer at Sun, Libertarian Party Platform
Committee, LPCA Executive Committee: "A possible alternative ... would
be the correction of unjust site monopolization through something like
a citizens' dividend funded by the return of geo-rent from site
monopolists such as through a site value tax."
Michael Strong, CEO and Chief Visionary Officer, FLOW, Inc: "I do
think that if people had a Citizen's Dividend they could absorb more
economic insecurity and uncertainty, which is what free markets often
result in, along with greater innovation and wealth creation. I'd like
to see more people from both left and right promoting something along
these lines."
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5. Corrections: Elder's age
by Stewart Goldwater, September 1, 2008
"Earth Day speech at the United Nations by John McConnell, 88 year old
Founder of Earth Day ..."
John McConnell was born on March 22, 1915, which makes him 93. Have
amended web-edition accordingly.
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6a. Letters: Silver Lining to Downturn
By Mike Nickerson, Sustainability Project - 7th Generation Initiative,
sustain5 at web.ca, Aug 30, 2008
In this update, three items:
1 - Article: "A Silver Lining to the Economic Downturn."
2 - Help promote a Genuine Progress Index by asking candidates in the
federal election if they will support such an institution.
3 - "Living on Earth as if we want to stay" tour heads to the Maritimes.
Editor's Note: To read these interesting articles, please contact Mike
Nickerson at above. Thanks.
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6b. Letters: What we might do about the nationwide foreclosure crisis
Ed Dodson, ejdodson at comcast.net, September 29, 2008
This is my proposal to my former colleagues in the community banking
arena on how to respond to the foreclosure crisis. What we need is
legislation that sets aside foreclosure sales in favor of the
government taking a deed in lieu of foreclosure, then conveying the
property to a community land trust subject to a lien in the amount of
the market value of the property. I am happy to respond to any
questions.
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7a. Likable link: School of Cooperative Individualism update
By Ed Dodson, ejdodson at comcast.net, September 12, 2008
One of the objectives of the School is to bring together in one
location a deep source of material for researchers, students,
scholars, activists and thoughtful people, generally. It is gratifying
to see from the activity reports that visits are increasing from
countries where English is not the first language. Requests keep
coming in from visitors who ask to be added to the School's email
newsletter. Updating of the School's online Encyclopedia on Political
Economy is finished. Broken links have been tracked down and
re-established, or removed, and links to many more recent articles
have been added. If you browse the online library, you will find many
new additions. There is much more you can discover on your own.
Remember to use "askhenry.com" to search the SCI website and other
related websites.
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7b. Likable link: American Monetary Institute update
By Stephen Zarlenga, AMI, ami at taconic.net, September 14, 2008
A few weeks ago we sent out an essay titled "Front running Humanity in
the Oil Markets. It pointed out how allowing such futures speculation
was actually endangering mankind, causing starvation and other
problems that could lead to warfare. The 4th Annual 2008 AMI Monetary
Reform Conference is shaping up as quite an event. You can see the
latest schedule at http://www.monetary.org/2008schedule.html
It's probably too late for you to attend, but audio and video CDs will
become available.
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8a. What You Can Do: Make him merry
Paul Justus's birthday is October 2. One could always use another
well-wish.
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8b. What You Can Do: Visit Amazon
By Phil Anderson, timetrader at optusnet.com.au, September 18, 2008
I listed on Amazon this week:
The Secret Life of Real Estate explains the real estate cycle, the
subsequent recession, repeating each phase again, varied only by the
new ways bankers find to avoid the new regulations. I wrote it simply
because it was something I personally had to do - because I knew more
about the topic than anything I was able to read elsewhere. Following
it, my forecasting has been right on. You could do a bloke a favor and
sign up so that Amazon can tell you when it is actually available from
them and therefore help me get some traction on the site.
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8c. What You Can Do: Visit Alanna
by Alanna Hartzok, Co-Director, Earth Rights Institute,
Alanna at earthrights.net
My book is now in print. The Earth Belongs to Everyone is 360 pages
and includes an 11 page index, 6 page bibliography, 30 plus photos and
graphs, 30 articles and essays, and a 25 page introduction with
article summaries. Here are some plugs:
"Alanna Hartzok's grasp of land issues is truly impressive. A real
intellectual feast. I have learned so much from her work and
writings." -- Col. Thomas Dempsey, Director of African Studies, US
Army War College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania
"Alanna Hartzok has deeply researched tax issues with equity and
ecological-sustainability firmly in mind. This book is a storehouse of
wisdom and insights on these and many broader issues relating
economics to the larger planetary ecology." -- Hazel Henderson,
author, Beyond Globalization and Building a Win-Win World, member,
President's Commission on Sustainable Development, founder, Ethical
Markets TV
"One of the many merits of Alanna Hartzok's collection of writings is
to ground that conviction in practical proposals. She inspires us to
do something about it." -- James Robertson, author, The New Economics
of Sustainable Development, co-founder, The Other Economic Summit and
the New Economics Foundation, consultant, European Commission.
Where can one get the book? Contact Alanna above.
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8d. What You Can Do: Rate New News on the UrbanTools site
Joshua Vincent, Executive Director, Henry George Foundation USA/Center
for the Study of Economics, joshua at urbantools.org
September 19, 2008
Our first maps of Philadelphia are generated by Tableau, a database
analysis tool that allows quick, easy but very accurate visualizations
of information. The data behind these images are generated straight
from the city's database of properties.
We can map and graph for anything: absentee ownership, LVT, types of
property, vacancy, you name it. This section is a taste of things to
come. It will be part of a citywide project with overall to granular
data analysis. http://www.urbantools.org/news
Please let us know what you would like to see; what can make our
project more compelling?
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8e. What You Can Do: Mark your calendars for a super Photo Opportunity
By Sue Walton, sns at swwalton.com, February 15, 2008
Tom Johnson (born July 18, 1854, died April 10, 1911) was a three-term
mayor of Cleveland of whom reformer Lincoln Steffens remarked,
"Johnson is the best mayor of the best governed city in America."
Johnson's political career was sparked by reading Henry George's books
and becoming a fellow advocate of free trade and the single land tax,
as well as George's personal friend. Mayor Johnson is buried in
Greenwood Cemetery, Brooklyn, N.Y. in the plot next to Henry George.
Living Georgists attending the CGO's 2009 annual conference will
participate in a ceremony at the Statute of Tom Johnson in Cleveland's
Public Square on Thursday, August 6th. We will need volunteers to
leaflet the square and to be spokespeople for our cause. If you're
interested in helping, please contact:
Dan Sullivan at pimann at pobox.com by November 1, 2008.
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9. At the Margin: Quips and Quotes
If you think nobody cares, try missing a couple of payments.
- Larry the cable guy
The only difference between death and taxes is that death doesn't get
worse every time Congress meets.
- Will Rogers
When the people find they can vote themselves money, that will herald
the end of the republic.
- Benjamin Franklin
Hmm. We wonder: which people in particular, Ben?
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10. Publication affairs: Contributing to this issue
Along with those acknowledged above with each blurb:
Editor: Jeffery J. Smith
Assistant Editor: Caspar Davis
Archivist: Stewart Goldwater
Owner: The Robert Schalkenbach Foundation
Founder: Adam Monroe
Send your news and other interesting material to the Georgist News at
jjs at geonomics.org or gn at progress.org. The deadline for the next
issue is August 25.
The Georgist News, a project of the Robert Schalkenbach Foundation, is
an email newsletter brought to you free of charge. Its purpose is to
keep you updated on the latest news, citations, events, and
initiatives of relevance to people who, like Henry George, seek a
world free from special privilege and the causes of poverty.
Do you know someone who'd enjoy reading the GN? Please forward them an
issue and ask them to subscribe, or send us their eddress. As always,
it's free. Thanks.
The Georgist News is also available on line at
http://www.Georgist.com/
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The Georgist News, Volume Eleven, Number Four, October 1, 2008