BLOG: Commentary

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...

“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...

Alan 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...

The 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...

Changing 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,...

What 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...

Dear God, whose side are you on?

Dear 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...

Philippines President: “I will tax you to death”

Rodrigo Duterte attacked mining companies in his State of the Nation address to the Philippine Congress over their abuse of the country he leads. His concerns are threefold: • Environmental degradation • The export of raw ores without processing • Miners’ failure to...