(2013 April) Contents

Posted on April 18, 2013 by admin

THE GEORGIST NEWS
Volume Fifteen, Number Nine
April 18, 2013

CONTENTS
1. Announcement: 2013 CGO Conference
2. Opinion: Giving Consideration to a Just Tax
3. Opinion: How an Anti-Rentier Agenda Might Bring Liberals, Conservatives Together
4. Opinion: Communism, Welfare State — What’s the Next Big Idea?
5. Research: Socializing Land Rent, Untaxing Production
6. Letters: An Offer You Cannot Refuse
7. Likeable Link: Ghost Malls of the Instant Cities
8. Likeable Link: Jesuit Justice and the Pope
9. Video: On Solid Ground
10. Video: A New Story of the People
11. What You Can Do: 39th Annual EEA Conference
12. What You Can Do: Reminder of AMI Cooper Union Event
13. What You Can Do: Left Forum 2013 — Mobilizing for Ecological\Economic Justice
14. What You Can Do: Seventh Biennial USSEE Conference
15. What You Can Do: 28th IU Conference
16. At the Margins: Quips and Quotes

About The Georgist News

1. (2013 April) Announcement: 2013 CGO Conference

Posted on April 18, 2013 by admin

The 33rd North American Conference of the Council of Georgist Organizations will be held from Tuesday, August 6 to Saturday, August 10, 2013 at the Holiday Inn Pittsburgh Airport. For information, go to http://www.cgocouncil.org/conf13.htm

Or click below:
CGO 2013

2. (2013 April) Opinion: Giving Consideration to a Just Tax

Posted on April 18, 2013 by admin

Giving consideration to a just tax
Why is it so hard to understand the justice and benefits of capturing the community created value of land for the community?
By John Fisher

http://freeport.nassauguardian.net/editorial/307852125169490.php

3. (2013 April) Opinion: How an Anti-Rentier Agenda Might Bring Liberals, Conservatives Together

Posted on April 18, 2013 by admin

How an anti-rentier agenda might bring liberals, conservatives together
Throughout the late 19th century, the political economist Henry George argued that a main reason there was so much poverty amidst prosperity was the large presence of people collecting unearned income, or what he called “rents”. His particular focus was on land, and his solution was taxes. [Editor's note: more accurately than "taxes", George advocated a "single tax".] It’s difficult to overstate his influence on turn-of-century reform movements, providing both the theoretical basis for those looking at other problems in the new industrial era and a concrete set of solutions for organizers building new mass political movements.
By Mike Konczal (Washignton Post)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/03/30/ow-an-anti-rentier-agenda-might-bring-liberals-conservatives-together/

4. (2013 April) Opinion: Communism, Welfare State — What’s the Next Big Idea?

Posted on April 18, 2013 by admin

Communism, welfare state – what’s the next big idea?
Any attempt to challenge the elite needs courage, inspiration and a truly groundbreaking proposal. Here are two to set us off
By George Monbiot (The Guardian)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/apr/01/alternative-to-war-on-britains-poor

5. (2013 April) Research: Socializing Land Rent, Untaxing Production

Posted on April 18, 2013 by admin

Alanna Hartzok recently delivered a paper at the Annual World Bank Conference on Land and Poverty, held in Washington, DC from April 8 to 11.

Click below to read her presentation:
World Bank 2013: Socializing Rent

6. (2013 April) Letters: An Offer You Cannot Refuse

Posted on April 18, 2013 by admin

Godfrey Dunkley issues an open letter to the residents of Perth, Australia, regarding land value tax and financing public works.

Click below to read:
Perth Rail Financing

7. (2013 April) Likeable Link: Ghost Malls of the Instant Cities

Posted on April 18, 2013 by admin

Ghost Malls of the Instant Cities
The failure of the New South China Mall can be attributed to problems of speculation and overdevelopment, poor urban planning, as well as the absence of organic growth in these “instant” cities.
By Tong Lam (LA Review of Books)

http://blog.lareviewofbooks.org/post/45859024733/ghost-malls-of-the-instant-cities-by-tong-lam

8. (2013 April) Likeable Link: Jesuit Justice and the Pope

Posted on April 18, 2013 by admin

Jesuit Justice and the Pope
The good Jesuits at SCU and elsewhere have yet to confront the core of ethics, just as economists have not confronted the core question of what is the optimal division between what is personal and what is social.
By Fred E. Foldvary (The Progress Report)

http://www.progress.org/2013/fold813.htm

9. (2013 April) Video: On Solid Ground

Posted on April 18, 2013 by admin

Check out the newest RSF video on the Work and Wealth site, entitled On Solid Ground

On Solid Ground from Robert Schalkenbach Foundation on Vimeo.

10. (2013 April) Video: A New Story of the People

Posted on April 18, 2013 by admin

A New Story of the People: Charles Eisenstein at TEDxWhitechapel
“Our hearts know that a more beautiful world is possible; but our minds do not know how it’s possible”. In this intelligent and inspiring talk, writer and visionary Charles Eisenstein explores how we can make the transition from the old story of separation, competition and self-interest to a new Story of the People.

Charles Eisenstein is a teacher, speaker, and writer focusing on themes of civilization, consciousness, money, and human cultural evolution. His books (The Ascent of Humanity and Sacred Economics) as well as his other essays and blog posts on web magazines have generated a vast online following. He speaks frequently at conferences and other events, and gives numerous interviews on radio and podcasts.

11. (2013 April) What You Can Do: 39th Annual EEA Conference

Posted on April 18, 2013 by admin

The 39th Annual Eastern Economics Association conference will take place in New York City from May 9 through 11. RSF will sponsor a Georgist information table and several well-known Georgists will be featured speakers, including RSF President Francis K. Peddle.

To register or for more information, go to http://www.ramapo.edu/eea/2013-2/

12. (2013 April) What You Can Do: Reminder of AMI Cooper Union Event

Posted on April 18, 2013 by admin

Just a reminder that the American Monetary Institute is holding a special conference at Cooper Union in New York City. Fixing our Broken Money System: Achieving Justice, Avoiding Austerity, Reducing Debt and Creating Jobs will be held on Sunday, May 12 from 1–6pm. Among the featured speakers are Nic Tideman and Bill Batt.

For information, click here and here. To register, click here.

13. (2013 April) What You Can Do: Left Forum 2013 — Mobilizing for Ecological\Economic Justice

Posted on April 18, 2013 by admin

The 2013 Left Forum will be held at Pace University, June 7 to 9. To see the list of speakers and session, or to sign up, go to http://www.leftforum.org/

RSF will sponsor a Georgist information table, as well as a panel discussion featuring Cay Hehner, Andrew Mazzone, and Michael Hudson.

UPDATE:
4/22/2013 This post mistakenly identified RSF as the sponsor of the panel discussion; Common Ground NYC is actually the sponsor. For details about the panel, click here.

14. (2013 April) What You Can Do: Seventh Biennial USSEE Conference

Posted on April 18, 2013 by admin

The U.S. Society for Ecological Economics (USSEE) will hold its 2013 Conference on June 9-12 at the University of Vermont (UVM) in Burlington, Vermont hosted by the Gund Institute for Ecological Economics. This meeting is organized around the theme of Building Local, Scaling Global: Implementing Solutions for Sustainability and will aim to research and catalog sustainability lessons learned at local, regional, and state levels and identifying solutions that can be scaled up.

RSF is one of the official co-sponsors and will be represented by RSF Board Member Brian Kelly.

For information and to register, go to http://www.ussee.org/

15. (2013 April) What You Can Do: 28th IU Conference

Posted on April 18, 2013 by admin

The theme for this year’s International Union for Land Value Taxation conference is Economics for Conscious Evolution. The conference will convene July 24 – 28 at The School of Economic Science in London. Click here for information or see the items below.

IU Conference Program
IU Newsletter

16. (2013 April) At the Margins: Quips and Quotes

Posted on April 18, 2013 by admin

“When we tug at a single thing in Nature, we find it attached to the rest of the world.”
~John Muir

“We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history there is such a thing as being too late. (…) We may cry out desperately for time to pause in her passage, but time is deaf to every plea and rushes on. Over the bleached bones and jumbled residues of numerous civilizations are written the pathetic words ‘Too late.’ ”
~Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Life is a process of becoming, a combination of states we have to go through. Where people fail is that they wish to elect a state and remain in it. This is a kind of death.”
~Anais Nin

“Every time you spend money, you’re casting a vote for the kind of world you want.”
~Anna Lappe

(2013 March) Contents

Posted on March 21, 2013 by admin

THE GEORGIST NEWS
Volume Fifteen, Number Eight
March 21, 2013

CONTENTS
1. Announcement: CGO Update
2. Opinion: Why All Progressives Should Support a Land Value Tax
3. Opinion: Lower Property Taxes to the Ground to Save Cities & Nature
4. Opinion: We Need a Land Value Tax, Not a Property Tax Cap
5. Research: The Road Not Taken — An Old Proposal and Its Implications
6. Numbers: Think New York Is Costly? In New Delhi, Seedy Goes for 8 Figures
7. Likeable Link: America Does Tax Wealth, Just Not Very Intelligently
8. Likeable Link: It’s Lose-Lose vs. Win-Win-Win-Win-Win
9. Video: Wealth Inequality in America
10. What You Can Do: AMI Conference May 2013
11. What You Can Do: CASLE International Conference July 2013
12. What You Can Do: WSJ Controversy
13. What You Can Do: Commenting Around the Web
14. RSF News: Special Book Offer
15. At the Margins: Quips and Quotes

About The Georgist News

1. (2013 March) Announcement: CGO Update

Posted on March 21, 2013 by admin

Georgist Education Sessions to be Featured at 2013 CGO Conference

This year’s education sessions are going to be a real part of the conference, to which all are invited. The sessions, sponsored by the Henry George Institute, will run from 2 to 6pm on Tuesday, August 6. The official opening reception is that evening at 7pm — so if conference participants wish to make these important sessions, all they have to do is arrive earlier on the first day of the conference.

Five presentations are scheduled:
—Mike Curtis on a practical method for determining true rental-value assessments in Arden, Delaware.
—Bob Jene on the practice of preserving farmland through “farm heritage trusts,” and opportunities for alliance with Georgists on this key issue.
—Ed Dodson will demonstrate his PowerPoint presentations expanding on the vital, yet oft-ignored, influence of land policy in the US history.
—Mike Curtis and Lindy Davies will engage in dialogue between Henry George’s theory of the boom/bust cycle and recent enhancements that help to explain current phenomena.
—Lindy Davies will explain some key changes in economic definitions that the Henry George Institute has adopted to make Georgist curricula more compatible with mainstream economics — without compromising its main ideas.

These sessions are part of the conference; registrants are free to attend them at no extra charge.

2. (2013 March) Opinion: Why All Progressives Should Support a Land Value Tax

Posted on March 21, 2013 by admin

Why all progressives should support a land value tax
Through no effort of their own, landowners reap a £100bn annual windfall. Caroline Lucas’s bill shows the way towards a moral capitalism.
By David Cooper (New Statesman)

Churchill knew that landowners cannot change the value of a plot of land. Its value depends only on location and size. Is it near a station? A park? Good schooling? All of these factors are determined by the community, not the landowner.

http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2013/02/why-all-progressives-should-support-land-value-tax