On Friday, Peter Costello used Fairfax to tell us how handsome he is and how splendidly the Future Fund he chairs is performing. He was responding to fellow establishment figure Howard Mitchell's comparing its returns against the Alaska Permanent Fund. The whole...
BLOG: Commentary
Geoists in History – Philip Snowden
1864 - 1937 Karl Williams continues the exploration of the great figures in history in his Geoists in History segment. “There never was a time when the need was greater than it is today for the application of the philosophy and principles of Henry George to the...
Victoria thinks the unthinkable – land tax
The Andrews government is flying a kite today in The Age to gauge public opinion on removing conveyancing Stamp Duty and using State Land Tax instead. This initiative deserves thunderous applause. With many young Victorians now excluded from home ownership and renting...
Property big short is long on price
A letter in today's Australian Financial Review by Dr Philipp Hoflin, a member of Lazard Asset Management's equities team soberly expresses the discomfort among sharemarket investors about the Giant Australian Land Bubble. Property big short is long on price In...
Perverse incentives from dud taxes dog public infrastructure investment
Melbourne Domain Sunday went into shock and horror over the impact a proposed elevated rail would have on the selling prices of adjoining Carnegie properties. Area agents say the value of houses backing onto the rail line from Carnegie to Hughesdale could be slashed...
Saul Eslake, Negative Gearing and Policy Promise
Renegade Economists radio show #430 Read the show notes. Subscribe to the leading Georgist weekly podcast. Karl Fitzgerald: And welcome the Renegade Economist with your host, Karl Fitzgerald. And, my, oh, my, hasn’t it been in the news, negative gearing, there’s been...
See The Big Short, talk about The Big Short
Based on Michael Lewis’s 2010 book, The Big Short is a critically acclaimed film about Wall Street in the lead-up to the 2008 Global Financial Crisis. “This business kills the part of life that is essential, the part that has nothing to do with business” - The Big...
Treasury Secretary falls for Gearing Myth
The Treasury Secretary John Fraser was recently found wanting in the Senate Economics committee on the most controversial tax in the country. When asked by Senator Peter Whish-Wilson what would happen to rents if Negative Gearing was removed, he provided the following...
Prosper’s President in the news
Prosper Australia President Catherine Cashmore was interviewed by Michael Bleby in the weekend Australian Financial Review. The interview stepped behind the intrigue of Henry George and Land Value Tax. Some selected highlights: Economic thinkers don't often draw large...
Abandon bad taxes
Flinty Deloittes economist Chris Richardson and all-heart ACOSS chief Cassandra Goldie are on the same page today in the Australian Financial Review. Literally – page 47. Their tax policy prescriptions, now Malcolm Turnbull has ruled out increasing the GST, are...