All the great social philosophers have held that land must be rented, not sold, if communities aren’t to implode. One of them put it into a formula, saying that if we were to capture the social surplus, then labour and profits will receive their full and rightful income—their ‘private property’?—undiminished by arbitrary taxation:- i.e. Production […]
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The Queen Pays Her Dues, Do You?
This week the Renegade Economists radio show celebrated ten years on the 3CR airwaves. Much of the show was based on the following. Have a listen: Reverberations from Phillip Anderson’s presentation to the 126th Annual Henry George Dinner are still being felt. Phillip revealed that the Queen pays a significant land rent to the UK […]
Read More“Is the Queen a Georgist?”
Turns out she is! She pays the rent …. In 2015 the Crown Estate delivered a record £328.8 million to the Exchequer from its thirty wind farms and central London assets. This was up 8.1% on the previous year, taking the total the Estate has returned to the Treasury over the last decade to […]
Read MoreEJ Craigie Award Winner – Adam Creighton
Adam Creighton was awarded the EJ Craigie Award for the best Georgist article at last night’s packed 126th Annual Henry George Commemorative Dinner. His article was a timely addition to the mounting call for greater land tax utilisation. Here is the winning article: Land levy an efficient and moral revenue raiser Cross-posted from The […]
Read MoreAlan Kohler: Listen to George
Cross-posted from Alan Kohler’s The Constant Investor, the 2nd time he has written about Georgism in recent years. Saturday was the 178th birthday of Henry George, who, in 19th century America, worried about inequality and puzzled over why technology was not delivering better results for working people, rather like economists and central bankers are doing today. […]
Read MoreWas it ‘debt’ or land price what done us in, Gov?
Economists are very strange people. Some of them say private debt doesn’t matter much, because banks simply act as intermediaries between people in the community who lend to each other, so that any private debt cancels out. More realistically, other economists say that banks, by generating excessive debt, are responsible for the repetitive economic recessions […]
Read MoreThe Toorak Times
Toorak has been in the news – only 5 properties are currently publicly advertised for sale in the exclusive suburb, ensuring scarcity delivers daunting prices. The Domain wrote in glowing terms about a $7m profit on a tennis court held over 20 years. It is not uncommon for Toorak residents to own an adjacent property […]
Read MoreChanging the world
What’s the problem? Class struggle? Population? Money? Debt? Banks? Something else? ‘Something else’ is more important than each of the others, but we always say it’s “too hard and will never happen!” And so we continue to plod along in an economic slough of despond, blaming this government or that government, for not taking this […]
Read MoreWhat silly kind of a tax raises no money?
Overseas buyers of Melbourne real estate have had to pay a Foreign Purchaser Additional Duty since mid-2015. The tax raised $133 million last year, according to official figures released to The Age under Freedom of Information. The newspaper tried to suggest this tax is intended to peel money off outsiders, “a significant money-spinner for the […]
Read MoreDear God, whose side are you on?
Meander Valley Council in Tasmania will sell a family’s home at public auction in three weeks unless they pay their overdue rates. This reluctant display of the authority of government illustrates the limits and strengths of land title in Australia. The Examiner explains: “The owners of Chudleigh’s Melita Honey Farm have less than three weeks […]
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