In the United States we are now at the time of year when many people go on quiet, relaxing vacations. Others, including Georgists, manage somehow to combine pleasure with busy efforts to bring about worldwide economic justice.
No matter where you are or what pro-justice activities you are pursuing, we wish you great success and encourage you to send in your observations and reports to share with other readers of the Georgist News.
Deadline for the August issue: July 24.
You can always reach the Georgist News at gn@progress.org
CONTENTS: (to return here just click the headline)
GN Comments: This major, exciting article appeared in the June 8 issue of The Observer (UK).
A radical land tax set to be introduced by the Government could yield hundreds of millions of pounds to build affordable homes and transport links.
Owners would pay the levy on the value added to their land by the new projects.
The aim of the proposal is to quell growing scepticism that John Prescott's much vaunted Communities Plan - designed to deliver 200,000 new homes in the South-East and combat deprivation in the North - will ever take off.
The land value tax could help to pay for the heavily delayed Crossrail project, a rail line connecting Heathrow and east London via the Square Mile.
The Deputy Prime Minister, giving his clearest support yet for such a scheme, told The Observer: 'If you want extra money you've got to find new forms of financing. I've always found it unacceptable that we can have massive value increases in areas by the local authority investing in something and we don't see the real benefit from it.
'We're looking at other forms of funding to get the development. One of the ways is looking at getting more from the benefit of increased land value that comes from it.
'So we're looking at a number of options. We can't get into some of the land areas that we need for housing unless we get the transport infrastructure ... I just think we should be in on that.'
Prescott hinted that Chancellor Gordon Brown backed the tax and that further announcements will be made later this year.
Studies show that the arrival of a new London Tube line sparks localised property booms from which the Government and local authorities gain nothing. The price of houses near the Jubilee line soared by an estimated £14bn as it opened in 2000. The tax could help launch the building of a much-needed new wave of rail, tram and other infrastructure. Property owners would pay extra, but guarantees of new infrastructure should quell protests.
The Cabinet Office and the Treasury are studying the Sustainable Communities Plan amid doubts about whether key government departments, such as health and education, support Prescott's housing vision.
GN Comments: Next month we hope to bring you reports from the CGO conference taking place in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Here is a last-minute announcement from Sue Walton naming some spare-time opportunities for conference attendees:
These places of business are all within walking distance of the conference hotel.
You can still attend! For more information, visit www.progress.org/cgo/conf03.html or phone Sue Walton at 847-475-0391 or email swalton@surfbest.net
Dr. Nicolaus Tideman sends this news announcement:
If you wish to write to them with concerns or comments about the activities of the Foundation, their addresses are:
GN Comments: On June 26, 2003, The Guardian (UK) published an article by Online editor Victor Keegan, titled "Thinking Ahead." The article discusses the reform ideas of Henry George and notes gradually growing support for site value taxation.
The full article is available at: www.guardian.co.uk/economicdispatch/story/0,12498,984921,00.html
"The Taxable Capacity of Australian Land and Resources" is appearing in the journal Australian Tax Forum.
Author Terry Dwyer is Visiting Fellow, National Centre for Development Studies, Asia Pacific School of Economics and Management, Australian National University.
GN Comments: This study is a triumphant demonstration of the great taxable capacity of natural resources. Don't miss it.
You can find the article online at:
www.prosper.org.au/Documents/TaxableCapacity.pdf
Courtesy of Prosper Australia, http://www.prosper.org.au
GN Comments: Have you noticed an increase in pro-Georgist reports emanating from the United Kingdom recently? We have, and we suspect that this is due to years of gradual grassroots educational and outreach work. Some seeds grow slowly but develop into great opportunities for a fairer, sounder economy for all people.
More coverage on Prescott's plan for tax reform (see item 1 above): www.observer.co.uk/business/story/0,6903,977669,00.html
Georgist Dave Wetzel on "A Chance to Make Vacant Space Pay"
Plus, allies of Georgist Tony Vickers recently released a news announcement
supporting land value taxation as the best mechanism for funding a special
Business Improvement District (BID) for part of the downtown of Liverpool. A
survey of businesses found strong backing for the "smart tax" as a fair and
effective way to address urban problems. That news release includes this
quote from Liverpool City Council Executive Member Chris Newby:
The CGIAR System-wide Program on Property Rights and Collective Action
(CAPRi) and the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI) are
organizing a conference on Property Rights, Collective Action and
Conservation of Local Genetic Resources to be held at IPGRI in Rome on
September 29th - October 2nd, 2003.
Abstract submission deadline is August 1st.
For more information contact:
CALL FOR PAPERS: WORKSHOP ON PROPERTY RIGHTS COLLECTIVE ACTION
AND LOCAL CONSERVATION OF GENETIC RESOURCES
29th September - 2nd October 2003, Rome, Italy
Many factors affect the conservation of biodiversity including demographic
changes, technological development, economic factors, and national
agricultural policies. However these factors alone are not sufficient to
explain observed overall trends in conservation, nor to explain different
patterns of conservation among communities subject to similar demographic,
economic, and political conditions. Institutional aspects, such as property
rights and collective action, of local plant genetic conservation have not
been studied as thoroughly.
Property rights over land-based and water resources, which specify access,
use and management rights over the natural resource base, may either promote
or constrain conservation, and affect livelihood conditions and strategies
of local communities. Given the public goods nature of germplasm it is
possible that collective action can reduce costs of community conservation
activities and improve information flows. Finally rights to germplasm, from
IPR to farmers rights, which assign control, regulate access and determine
use of germplasm also have direct effects on rural livelihoods and
biodiversity conservation.
This workshop seeks to bring together researchers from various social and
natural science disciplines who have been investigating institutional themes
surrounding local-level conservation of crop varieties and livestock
species.
Papers submitted should address the following themes:
The papers will draw on diverse disciplines of the natural and social
sciences, present empirical evidence and best practice approaches to the
study of institutional aspects of local plant and livestock genetic
conservation.
Papers will be invited based on their prospects for identifying relevant
links between institutions and biodiversity conservation, introducing sound
and innovative methods and applicability to existing policy issues.
Abstracts must be received no later than August 1st to be considered. Full
papers have to be submitted by September 15th. Please forward abstracts and
full paper to Monica Di Gregorio at:
m.digregorio@cgiar.org
Commentary from Ed Dodson
Appropriate comparison requires a bit closer attention to what you are
getting for your money, however: "Average house prices in each country also
vary widely. The average American home costs $204,000 which is not that much
more than the average British home ($185,000), but the average American home
is two-thirds larger. Japan, despite a big fall in prices, still has the
most expensive houses ($301,000)."
The Economist also makes another point about the uniqueness of the
housing market in Australia: "... the only place in the world where most
homes are sold by auction. Last year 70% of homes in Sydney went under the
hammer. These auctions usually take place outside the house to be sold. The
successful bidder has to put down a 10% deposit, and contracts are exchanged
immediately. If a house does not reach its reserve price, the vendors may
negotiate with the highest bidders afterwards...critics say that when
competition is strong, the excitement created by an auction can push up the
price, and the system may have been responsible for making Australia's
bubble bigger."
GN Comments: Ed Dodson runs the School of Cooperative Individualism
at
www.cooperativeindividualism.org
In a long and interesting report about the importance of climate in the
origins of the Third World, we find many mentions of taxation and land
tenure. If you're hunting for historical information, you will find many
excellent and well-documented resources here.
The full report is available at:
Work and play are words used to describe the same thing under differing
conditions.
The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by
the play instinct acting from inner necessity. The creative mind plays with
the objects it loves.
The Georgist News is an email newsletter, sent free of charge. Its purpose
is to keep you updated on the latest news, world events, projects, and
initiatives of relevance to people who, like Henry George, seek a world free
from special privilege and free from the causes of poverty.
The Georgist News on the WWW -
http://www.georgist.com/
"We see these results as highly significant, and they have also been borne
out by a series of Focus Groups with City Centre businesses. The business
community believes that it is inequitable that property owners, who are the
principal beneficiaries of rising values, will not necessarily be
contributing anything to improvement and regeneration initiatives. The
business community also believe that a tax on owners would help deal with
owners of derelict and under-utilised sites. In common with many other
cities, we have experienced considerable frustration with speculators, who
benefit from the initiative and enterprise of others, but simply sit on key
sites waiting for values to reach an optimum level. The experience from
America suggests that a form of Land Value Tax or 'Smart Tax' would be a
very useful means of tackling this kind of problem."
7. A Call for Papers
Monica Di Gregorio
Research Analyst CAPRi Program
International Food Policy Research Institute
2033 K Street N.W.
Washington D.C., 20006-1002 USA
phone:++1-202-862-5634 fax: ++1-202-467-4439
www.capri.cgiar.org
Limited funding will be available for researchers of developing country
institutions.
8. Urban Land Values Vary Enormously
The 31 May 2003 edition of The Economist compared the cost of a
two-bedroom "flat" in the more desirable central neighborhoods of various
cities around the globe. They concluded: "London is the most expensive,
followed closely by New York and Tokyo: in all three such a flat costs more
than $800,000. At the other extreme, a similar apartment in Brussels can be
bought for less than $200,000. Moreover, the typical two-bedroom flat in
Manhattan ($925,000) can be rather gloomy and is unlikely to have a balcony.
In contrast, $500,000 in Sydney will get you a light, spacious apartment,
with a large balcony and waterfront view. Differences within Europe are also
vast. Some Londoners are buying property in Paris, where that two-bedroom
flat is half the price of the equivalent in London."
9. How the "Third World" Got That Way
www.thecornerhouse.org.uk/briefing/27origins.html
10. AT THE MARGIN: Quips and Quotes
All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be
undertaken with painstaking excellence.
- Martin Luther King, Jr.
- Mark Twain
- C.G. Jung
11. About The Georgist News
Copy Editor: Scott Kroyer
Proofreader: Caspar Davis
Supported by: The Robert Schalkenbach Foundation and others
Founder: Adam Monroe
Publisher: Hanno T. Beck
The Georgist News Volume Six, Number One July 1, 2003