Seasons Greetings. A present for you is the new law in Ireland (see 1 below) and other legislative efforts elsewhere. But let's not rest on any laurels; organizers are asking a lot from us. Also, if any reader knows of anyone who'd merrily be a reader, tell us; we'll make this a present. May you enjoy your neighbors, friends, and family this holiday season. --------------------------------------------------------------- CONTENTS: 1. News: Ireland to Tax Land? Towns to Recover Rents? California LVT Measure? 2. Numbers: Citizens get more than they pay & Record bids for NY sites; Schools raise site values 3. Good Press: Leinberger, Totten 4. Movement Progress: Hazel Henderson Posts Alanna Hartzok 5. Letters: Aussie newsletter; Ohio's limitations; Dodson's diggings 6. Likable link: Lindy's new slideshow; "The Warning" and Free Seminars 7. What You Can Do: Read Gaffney, Join an alliance, Enroll for a class, Tout next CGO 8. At the Margin: Quips and Quotes 9. Publication affairs: Contributors, About the Georgist News ---------------------------------------------------------------- 1. News: Ireland to Tax Land? Towns to Recover Rents? California LVT Measure? To keep up with the latest in the world of economic justice, try visiting the daily news site, the Progress Report. You'll find such articles as: The ruling Coalition Government of the Fianna Fail (Soldiers of Destiny) and the Green Party announced they will introduce a Site Valuation Tax. "Site Value Tax in Program for Irish Government" http://www.progress.org/2009/salestax.htm It also broadcast the fact that a panel of OECD countries found that property taxes, and particularly recurrent taxes on immovable property, seem to be the most growth-friendly. Land prices (AKA home prices) are down, yet two cities want some land rent to fund services. Is there enough? "Councilman wants colleges to pay city based on land value" http://www.progress.org/2009/landrent.htm California could strike gold again if enough voters get behind a new measure to shift taxes off efforts, onto land. "Ballot Measure to Overhaul State's Tax System Submitted to AG" http://www.progress.org/2009/walker.htm If you'd like to help the initiator of this effort, Frank Walker, do contact him at frank_walker at mac.com Sending the progress.org link to friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers is a great way to establish a shared frame of reference for a discussion about how to solve economic issues. --------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Numbers: Citizens get more than they pay + Record bids for NY sites Want all the current indicators in one place? Periodically, The Progress Report publishes just such an article. To give readers greater breadth, depth, and the most salient facts, many articles at the Progress Report are not single articles but compilations on one theme, offering a compendium of data on one sector: Can this continue? Households pay less tax than the benefits that governments pay, while being unemployed hurts worse. "Americans get more money back than they pay in" http://www.progress.org/2009/jobless.htm Americans owe trillions in taxes if the US is to pay its debts. Meanwhile, the very rich bid records for some Manhattan. "CBS MarketWatch on How Much the Stimulus Has Done" http://www.progress.org/2009/stimulus.htm --------------------------------------------------------------- 2b. Numbers: GB's Standard: schools add to house values Jon Mendel, November 27, 2009 A reminder of how public services boost land prices (though I'm not convinced by how the Standard presents the stats) www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23775297-top-primary-sch... --------------------------------------------------------------- 3a. Good Press: Leinberger's blog at The New Republic, by Christopher Leinberger, Visiting Fellow, Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program, November 2, 2009 (via Wyn Achenbaum) The name for the linking of land improvement profits to help pay for the transportation improvements which made those profits possible is value capture. You will be hearing a lot more about value capture in the debate over transportation policy; it will be one of the major ways we will use to pay for America's critically needed transportation improvements. --------------------------------------------------------------- 3b. Good Press: An Emergency Program by Bill Totten, founder and president of KK Ashisuto, Japan's leading independent distributor of packaged computer software for large organizations, October 31, 2009 A "basic income guarantee" has been advocated by many politicians, and reformers in the US for decades, including Milton Friedman and Dr Martin Luther King, Junior, and is the idea behind the current citizens' dividend of about $1000 per resident under the Alaska Permanent Fund. Editor's Note: Henry George on several occasions advocated a public rent-share. Activist Dan Sullivan posted a compendium of George's advocacy to the list, LandCafe (a Yahoo group), November 15, 2009. It could be found in their archive or Dan (pimann at pobox.com) might send you his findings. ---------------------------------------------------------------- 4. Movement Progress: Hazel Henderson Posts Alanna Hartzok by Alanna Hartzok, November 19, 2009 My article keeps getting posted on more sites. Hazel Henderson, the well-known and highly respected author and activist (coiner of "Think Globally, Act Locally"), just put it on hers October 28: The Land Ethic: How to Address Inequality and Financial Instability http://www.ethicalmarkets.com/category/reforming-global-finance/ ---------------------------------------------------------------- 5a. Letters: Aussie newsletter, Earthsharing, latest issue by Karl Fitzgerald, Projects Coordinator, Earthsharing Australia, k2 at earthsharing.org.au, November 9, 2009 Headlining the latest issue of Earthsharing is, "Vacancy Report reveals 1000's of empty homes". To receive our newsletter monthly, email me. Thanks. Our www.realestate4ransom.com campaign is taking off. Media are expressing interest in this unique portrayal of this issue. Check the clip at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scWaanVD2Ps Our third "I Want to Live Here" report shows an increase in CBD vacancies from 7 - 8.63%. One of our most popular suburbs, Carlton South had a vacancy rate of 28.96%. Australian politicians continue to say that we will defy global economic gravity. With interest rates and land prices continuing to increase, what does our future hold? Press release at www.earthsharing.org.au/2009/11/25/inner-city-vac... The multimedia highlights from Professor Hudson's whirlwind tour reveal some interesting history on Classical Economics. His op-ed piece was the 2nd most read article on our leading newspaper's website. www.prosper.org.au/2009/11/24/hudson-multimedia-highlights/ ---------------------------------------------------------------- 5b. Letters: 26th US President gets lesson in Georgism by Ed Dodson, November 25, 2009 The following is an excerpt from a remembrance of a long-time Single Taxer named Billy Radcliffe. He owned a hotel in Youngstown, Ohio that was a gathering place for visiting Single Taxers. This appeared in the Sep-Oct 1937 issue of Land and Freedom. Mr. Radcliffe died earlier in that year: President McKinley spoke once in Youngstown and commented on the Single Tax, speaking of it as "a tax on land." Billy Radcliffe asked permission to correct the speaker. "The Single Tax is not a tax on land," he explained, "but a tax on land values." Mr. McKinley, who was always oracular and solemn, replied with a self-satisfied air, "Well what is the difference between land and land values?" and Billy shouted at the top of his voice, "The value." The audience saw the point and responded with loud applause, much to Mr. McKinley's discomforture. --------------------------------------------------------------- 5c. Letters: Ohio limited Initiative & Referendum by Yisroel Pensack, November 26, 2009 U.S. Georgists in the early 20th century were promoting adoption of the initiative and referendum process as a way to bypass special-interest-dominated state legislatures and thereby introduce the single tax, LVT, etc. The Ohio 1912 const. convention's voluminous official "proceedings" contain transcripts of a series of heated debates about the single tax on land values/the taxation of land values irrespective of improvements/LVT/"split-rate"/"two-rate" in the context of whether to allow the introduction of initiative and referendum in Ohio; the outcome was that I&R were allowed, but with the proviso that they shall not be used to introduce the single tax in the state of Ohio! ---------------------------------------------------------------- 5d. Letters: During Depression, Baron's suggests geoism by Ed Dodson, November 26, 2009 The Mar-April 1938 issue of Land and Freedom reprinted this brief article that appeared in the March 14, 1938 issue of Baron's National Financial Weekly: "The question which Mr. Wallis, not without justice, calls burning that of land taxation. For more than a century many economists, notably Henry George, have pointed to the paradox which exists between heavy taxation on productive industry while unimproved land is left relatively lightly taxed. Mr. Wallis brings these views to date; his original contribution is that he points out how now, all times, when business is already under a crushing tax load, this problem has become vital. Caught between the double burden of taxation and high ground rents, business should demand relief and insist on a shift of a greater part of the tax load to non-productive property." Louis Wallis was a key figure in the Single Tax movement of the early decades of the 20th century, author of several books and regular contributor to Land and Freedom. A growing list of his articles is being resurrected and added to the online library of the School of Cooperative Individualism. --------------------------------------------------------------- 6a. Likable link: New Law of Rent PPT by Lindy Davies, November 24, 2009 I've just finished putting together a new PPT that you [especially teachers] might want to take a look at. It is a glossy version of the basic (excellent) Mike Curtis Law of Rent presentation -- but it uses the tip of Manhattan as the map example. This allows us to use a bunch of NYC imagery and examples. Notes are included. I'm quite sure that similar presentations could be crafted for other places, like Chicago, SF or LA... Anyway, it's at http://www.henrygeorge.org/mannahatta.ppt It's a big download -- over 9 MB. If anyone can't download it, let me know and I'll mail you a CD. --------------------------------------------------------------- 6b. Likable link: "The Warning" and Free Seminars by Stephen Zarlenga, AMI, ami at taconic.net, November 16, 2009 "The Warning", produced by FRONTLINE and aired on PBS Television, documents how Greenspan, Summers, and Ruben attacked and blocked Mrs. Brooksley Born, who was in charge of the CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission) when she warned of the derivatives danger in the mid 90s and fought to regulate them. This presentation traces de-regulation to Greenspan's philosophical mentor, Ayn Rand. http://video.pbs.org/video/1302794657 Also, the AMI offers four free monetary seminars in November and December. Contact me for details and participate if you can. ---------------------------------------------------------------- 7a. What You Can Do: Order: After the Crash by Mason Gaffney by Mark Sullivan, RSF, November 3, 2009 Mason Gaffney's After the Crash has arrived at Robert Schalkenbach Foundation. Special RSF discounted prices: $20 paperback. $45 hardcover. Order via our online bookstore at www.schakenbach.org (using VISA or MasterCard). Or send a check and add: $5 for shipping within the US, or $10 for shipping to Canada, or $15 for shipping to other countries. Do NOT send credit card information via email. Retail stores and non-Georgist institutions need to contact Wiley-Blackwell in order to purchase copies. --------------------------------------------------------------- 7b. What You Can Do: Read Mason Gaffney's essay Mason Gaffney has circulated an article, "A Cannan Hits the Mark". His intro reads, "Edwin Cannan (1861-1935) is best known for his 1904 edition of The Wealth of Nations, which became a standard. His other best-known work is a History of Theories of Production and Distribution, 1893. His book most relevant here is History of Local Rates in England, 1896. He was a professor at the London School of Economics, 1907-26, although a large inherited fortune let him live and rub elbows at Oxford, which he seemed to prefer. His later work was less noteworthy. He criticized both Marshall and J.M. Keynes, but without much impact." Cannan left us his Law. To read the rest, reach Mase at m.Gaffney at dslextreme.com. --------------------------------------------------------------- 7c. What You Can Do: Join the Transpartisan Alliance by Wendell Fitzgerald, November 6, 2009 Transpartisanship acknowledges the validity of truths across a range of political perspectives and seeks to synthesize them into an inclusive, pragmatic whole beyond typical political dualities. In practice, transpartisan solutions emerge out of a new kind of public conversation that moves beyond polarization by applying proven methods of facilitated dialogue, deliberation, and conflict resolution. In this way it is possible to achieve the ideal of a democratic republic by integrating the values of a democracy -- freedom, equality, and a regard for the common good, with the values of a republic -- order, responsibility and security. I have known Joseph McCormick, one of the co-founders for several years now. Ingo Bischoff and Clay Berling joined at my invitation. By joining, you give the land question message a better chance of being heard and considered here. http://network.transpartisan.net [Note: Your editor once was nominated to be the Minister of the Economy for the Alliance.] --------------------------------------------------------------- 7d. What You Can Do: Attend Prout Courses in Venezuela by Dada Maheshvarananda, Instituto Venezolano de Investigaci˘n de Prout, www.ve.prout.org The Prout Research Institute of Venezuela is offering an intensive course three times in December and January, called, "Venezuelan Reality and Tools to Change the World". The dates are: December 6-19 2009 December 25 2009 -- Jan. 3 2010 January 9-24 2010 President Hugo Chavez is calling for a Socialism for the 21st Century, but he admits he doesn't know what that means. Universal health care, subsidized food, free university education, houses for the homeless, participatory planning councils and 66,000 functioning cooperatives are suddenly transforming the country. Yet crime, corruption, pollution, and greed are eating away at social progress and feeding the opposition's accusations of dictatorship and ruin. The Prout Research Institute of Venezuela announces this course to see and experience the remarkable changes underway and listen to both sides of the debate. We will visit projects in the city and countryside, meet with leaders and analyze government responses to social problems that plague the entire world. Using the Progressive Utilization Theory (Prout), which its founder, P.R. Sarkar, called "Progressive Socialism," we will compare ideal policies that can practically solve these problems. Of course the challenge is not just to understand the world, but to change it. We offer a wide array of techniques and skills for social change, including startling discussion questions, cooperative games, street theater, community listening and interviewing, how to use the media and create eye-catching images, slogans, thought exhibitions and posters to impact large numbers of people. To change the world, we also have to change ourselves. We have to be the change we want to see, "to walk our talk." Prout lifestyle including meditation, yoga and vegetarian diet give tremendous clarity of mind and strength of will that all activists need. Immediately following each Prout course there will be an optional 4-day Work camp at Centro Madre Master Unit on sustainable agriculture, Afro-Venezuelan culture and community service. Baseball is the national sport of Venezuela. Children and adults love to play, but very few people in the villages have gloves, a bat or other equipment. If you can bring some gloves or a bat that you could donate, we could also hold an international baseball game for fun. We also have a popular Children's Reading Program and lending library, so we also request donations of children's books in Spanish. Internships and staff positions at the Prout Research Institute of Venezuela are also available. See www.priven.org for more information. ---------------------------------------------------------------- 7e. What You Can Do: 2010 CGO Conference News by Edward Dodson, Nov 19, 2009 The 2010 Team CGO is hard at work developing its program for Albany. Among the planned activities will be a bus tour on Wednesday or Thursday afternoon to the Town of Waterford, which is on the north edge of the eastern terminus of the Erie Canal. We will be able to see Locks 2 through 6 which make for the largest single lift in the world. The small Museum in Waterford (http://www.waterfordmuseum.com/) has a staff director who will provide us with the history and technical description of the Canal, as well as show us some of the significant sites. At one time the canal ran right in front of the museum, and the remains are still there. An additional site of some interest is the City of Cohoes, the location of the 19th century Harmony Mills, powered by the canal flow. A city historian will explain the former economic importance of the city. For more information see: http://www.cohoes.com/ Another historic site is the Watervliet Arsenal, which houses a museum of cannons. Here, we will hear about the evolution of the canal and the arsenal in this area. Go to: www.wva.army.mil/museum.php for more details. The trip should take about three and 1/2 hours. If you are a real history buff, there are other sites within a short distance you can investigate on your own. One is the Hudson Mohawk Industrial Gateway, referred to as the "Silicon Valley of the 19th Century." See http://www.hudsonmohawkgateway.org/ Team CGO would like to hear from you whether your intention is to attend the 2010 Conference in Albany, New York. If so, please let us know as soon as possible, as this will greatly help with our planning. Please email us at: sns at swwalton.com and write "Albany 2010" in the subject line so we do not miss your email. One final note on the upstate New York region is the nearness of Cooperstown (less than 2 hours west of Albany over US Route 20). Cooperstown is home to the Fenimore House/Farmers Museum Complex. Also nearby is the Soccer Hall of Fame. *** Announcing 2011 The Executive Committee of the Council of Georgist Organizations is please to announce that it has selected Harrisburg, PA as the site of its 2011 conference. The conference will be held at a major hotel in the downtown, so that attendees will have easy walking access to shops, restaurants and a number of museums. As most readers will know, Harrisburg is one of the most important examples of the benefits of adopting the taxation of land values. Harrisburg's long-time mayor and proponent of land-value taxation, Stephen Reed, expresses enthusiasm for our decision to hold our conference in his city. Equally important, Harrisburg is very accessible to the great majority of our members and affiliates. --------------------------------------------------------------- 8. At the Margin: Quips and Quotes People who want to share their religious views with you almost never want you to share yours with them. -- Dave Barry, Things That It Took Me 50 Years to Learn And when God, who created the entire universe with all of its glories, decides to deliver a message to humanity, He WILL NOT use, as His messenger, a person on cable TV with a bad hairstyle. -- Dave Barry, Things That It Took Me 50 Years to Learn God will not look you over for medals, degrees, or diplomas, but for scars. -- Elbert Hubbard --------------------------------------------------------------- 9. 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: Robert Schalkenbach Foundation Founder: Adam Monroe Send your news and other interesting material to the Georgist News, jjs at geonomics.org or gn at progress.org. The deadline for the next issue is the 25th of this month. The Georgist News, a project of 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 online http://www.Georgist.com/ ==================================================================
The Georgist News, Volume Twelve, Number Six, December 1, 2009