In what ways are you making a Georgist point with your life? Tell us some of your favorite activities so that we can share them with other Georgist News readers.
Deadline for our November 2005 issue: October 26.
You can always reach the Georgist News at gn@progress.org
* THIS JUST IN - A Georgist Film!
1. New Georgist Website
2. Hartzok and Davies: Georgist Chautauqua Lecturers
3. The CGO 2006 Conference
4. New Online Course in Economic Science
5. "Land Value Increment Tax" in China?
6. A Georgist Comeback
7. Fort Worth Natural Resource Bonanza
8. "Menace of Privilege" Relocates
9. Planning Gain Supplement
10. IULVTFT Newsletter
11. Upcoming Event
12. AT THE MARGIN: Quips and Quotes
13. About The Georgist News
Says Stillman, "What [the producer] needs from us are ideas, since we know more about this and its implications than he does. So I need you to start thinking about subjects that you think might be filmworthy. Let your minds soar and start thinking about your dream Georgist movies!"
Stillman is seeking your help in assembling plausible film abstracts - short outlines, no more than a page long, of how a film might be done.
Please send your questions and ideas to Matthew Stillman at mstillman@gmail.com
GN Comments: Thanks to Cliff Cobb for circulating this important news. This is a very unusual opportunity; not since 1989, when Charles Ashira proposed a Georgist motion picture, has there been such a chance. Please contribute your ideas. Whether used directly or indirectly, your ideas can help to shape a successful Georgist production.
by Laura-Lee Smith
Politico-economic reviews on global perspectives, public attitudes and topics of interest today - whatudontknow.com highlights points of view of which we should all be aware. My ultimate aim is your feedback.
Thought exchange is vital in a global atmosphere where what we don't know may kill us! Public awareness happens one person at a time, and if we educate each other, we defend each other.
"Let no one imagine that he has no influence. Whoever he may be, and wherever he may be placed, the man who thinks becomes a light and a power" - Henry George, Great Economist
Website Message Board/Blog - to log in, use password change
Be the change you want to see, and scream for the voices ignored ... www.whatudontknow.com
Thanks in advance for your support.
GN Comments: Congratulations to Laura-Lee Smith. Visit that site, and tell others about it.
GN Comments: Chautauqua, New York is the historical birthplace of all "Chautauqua" gatherings and lectures. This year, Georgists Lindy Davies and Alanna Hartzok were invited to Chautauqua itself to present views on Land and Justice. Here is a summary by Lindy Davies:
Our talks were hosted by the Department of Religion, a very large part of Chautauqua's academic establishment. It was founded as a Methodist retreat center in 1874, and since then has hosted an amazing list of prominent speakers, including nine Presidents. Now, it is ecumenical and welcoming - a bastion of progressive Christianity, reassuring us that the Robertsons and Dobsons in our society don't have the last word on faith. The main amphitheatre in the center of the grounds, a very impressive, open-air structure that seats some 10,000, displays three large flags: the United States, the Earth, and the United Nations.
Alanna and I spoke in the "Hall of Philosophy," a delightful open-air auditorium modeled after the Parthenon. Each of our presentations was before an audience of over 600. Chautauqua publishes a daily newspaper, which ran articles before each of our speeches, and lengthy reviews afterward.
Because of the high cost of programs there, Chautauqua's clientele tends toward advanced age. However, affordable access to programs is available through a number of "denominational houses" associated with various churches. Many people rent summer homes there, and there is a tremendous range of recreational and cultural activities for all ages. Truly an astounding place.
My remarks have been running as a three-part series in the Progress Report, called "Land and Justice."
GN Comments: People can order Hartzok's lecture on Earth Rights Democracy and Judeo-Christian Land Ethics on either cassette tape ($10) or CD ($15) from her at Earth Rights Institute, Box 328, Scotland, PA 17254. Copies of the Chautauqua newspaper review of her lecture will be sent with each order.
Davies' Chautauqua presentation is reprinted here: www.progress.org/2005/davies34.htm www.progress.org/2005/davies35.htm www.progress.org/2005/davies36.htm
by Sue Walton
For more information contact Sue Walton at 847-475-0391; swalton@surfbest.net
by Lindy Davies
The course features a new domain name. Find us at: www.politicaleconomy.org
One of the strangest news briefs that we have seen this year appeared in something called "Asia Pulse News" on August 25, 2005. This little article is very awkwardly translated into English, leaving the reader with no clear sense of what is, in fact, happening. Can any Georgist News readers shed light on this "land value increment tax" and its fate in China?
Here is the text of the article:
BEIJING, Aug 25 Asia Pulse - It is unlikely China will resume levying land value increment tax countrywide, industry insiders say.
China's central bank has recently proposed to strengthen collection and management of land value increment tax.
China began to levy such tax in 1994. But not long after, many places stopped or simplified such tax collection in order to stimulate consumption and increase investment.
The state would draw 0.5 - 1 per cent of the proceeds of property developers from their sales of housing as land value increment tax. Ordinary housing would be free when transferred.
On June 1, 2005, Shanghai resumed levying progressive land value increment tax on detached villas. From October 1, Tianjing will begin to levy 0.5 per cent land value increment tax on ordinary housing and 1 per cent on other housing.
Experts say that, from a long-term point of view, the real estate tax would cover the whole process of development, trading and use of property.
John Massam of Australia reports, "After years of being untouched by those who ran the Perth operation since late 1998, the Western Australian Georgist website has been revived."
You can find the site at: www.multiline.com.au/~georgist
Massam notes that revisions are ongoing, and much remains to be done: "Many links on the other pages are not working. Report any problems or suggestions to me."
You can reach Massam at: john.massam@multiline.com.au
by Ed Dodson of the School of Cooperative Individualism
It will be very interesting to watch to see what happens to property values in Ft. Worth and how this impacts the overall economy of the area.
Chuck Metalitz of the Henry George School of Chicago has moved his "Menace of Privilege" blog to: http://menace.bloghorn.com
Metalitz writes:
Energetic Georgist Dave Wetzel was recently invited to submit a letter to Property Week, a UK magazine. See how smoothly and succinctly Wetzel manages to present land value taxation's benefits, and how LVT relates to current concerns about property values and taxation in the United Kingdom:
The Government's apparent keenness to consider the Planning Gain Supplement fails to recognise the failure of previous UK development land taxes, where they have increased land prices, frozen development and reduced GDP.
The Government would be better advised to consider the success of Harrisburg in the USA where the introduction of an annual Land Value Tax over 25 years ago means that land is taxed six times greater than the tax on buildings.
Since the introduction of LVT (they call it the two-tier tax), Harrisburg has seen increased inward investment, the use of empty sites, the growth of taxable businesses from 1,908 to 8,864, unemployment fallen by 19% and the crime rate dropped by a staggering 58%!
Stephen R Reed, the Mayor of Harrisburg, states that his policy rewards the productive use of land and tends to discourage real estate speculation by irresponsible absentee owners.
He further says, "Without hesitation we can commend the importance and benefit of the land value tax policy. It has worked in Harrisburg and in other communities where it has existed."
Why does the UK Government wish to only tax developers? With LVT they could collect a legitimate annual income from all sites. In Philadelphia, many businesses are calling for the benefits of LVT and one of the loudest voices is the organisation of realtors (estate agents) who clearly identify that LVT will bring prosperity not only for their profession but also for the whole community."
Dave Wetzel
Chair of the Labour Land Campaign
wetzel@labourland.org
www.labourland.org
Are you a member of the International Union for Land Value Taxation and Free Trade? The International Union's recent newsletter, Issue #19, was sent by postal mail, but Ole Lefmann has begun a new service also offering distribution of the newsletter by email.
We applaud this new service and encourage IU members to consider switching to email receipt of the newsletter. If you have not seen it and would like to consider joining the IU, request a copy. You can reach Ole Lefmann at: iu@interunion.org.uk
The Third North American Symposium on Assessing the Environmental Effects of Trade will take place November 30 - December 1, 2005, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
This is a biennial event. For an agenda, list of presenters, etc., visit the symposium website at: www.cec.org/symposium
I discovered I always have choices and sometimes it's only a choice of attitude.
- Judith M. Knowlton
Never let yesterday use up too much of today.
- Will Rogers
While in the big questions we are faced with inexplicable mysteries, we must
get our priorities straight and recognize we are one human family, and we have
a planet that will provide a good future if we act as responsible Earth
Trustees and each do what we can to further peace, justice, and a sustainable
future.
- John McConnell, founder of Earth Day
The Georgist News, a project of the Robert Schalkenbach Foundation, is an (plain text) email newsletter. It is brought to you 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/