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Click here to make a donationHenry George is Kaput
BY CHRISTOPHER BRIEM, ON MARCH 22ND, 2012 So if you read the latest on property assessments in the PG today : 10 percent appealing assessments, there was an interesting obituary for Henry George there between the lines. There was this quote reported direct from Judge Wettick: Separate land values were “really confusing people” and many appeared to “make no sense,” Judge Wettick told Mr. Graham. ” more . . .Tax England’s green and pleasant land
THE FINANCIAL TIMES
February 23, 2012 7:06 pm
By Samuel Brittan
“Roads are made, streets are made . . electric light turns night into day. . . To not one of those improvements does the land monopolist. . . contribute, and yet by every one of them the value of his land is enhanced. . . ” moreCongressional earmarks sometimes used to fund projects near lawmakers’ properties
By David S. Fallis, Scott Higham and Kimberly Kindy, Published: February 6
A U.S. senator from Alabama directed more than $100 million in federal earmarks to renovate downtown Tuscaloosa near his own commercial office building.
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IFS (Institute for Fiscal Studies) backs land value tax
Thursday 2 February 2012 The idea is to cut income and business taxes while introducing a land value tax to end our obsession with property and to encourage paid work. There is a mania for investing in unproductive property as a way to boost living standards.
Read MoreShort debate: A Land Value Tax for Wales?
‘Land value tax’ would be fairer, says Mark Drakeford AM by David Williamson, Wales Online Feb 3 2012
Welsh Labour AM Mark Drakeford has given his backing to a “land value tax”.
The Cardiff West AM’s championing of the tax comes as the Silk Commission investigates giving the Assembly new fiscal powers.
In an article for the Institute of Welsh Affairs, Mr Drakeford argues land should “should belong to the people” and this would be a progressive tax
Read MoreThe Killing Fields Screenings
The documentary film written and presented by Fred Harrison - The Killing Fields, which exposes how the tax system is responsible for destroying habitats and species - is to receive two high-profile screenings:
- On 9th February at Oxford University UK. There will be a discussion regarding reforms to taxation to eliminate poverty, environmental damage and social injustice.
- On May 6th:screened at the Brighton Festival UK. A panel discussion involving participants in the film - conservationist Peter Smith, landowner/farmer Dr Duncan Pickard, and eco-warrior lawyer Polly Higgins - will be chaired by Sir Richard Jolly.
The video was directed by Carlo Nero. Hosting these events will be Academy Award winning actress Vanessa Redgrave, who is this year's Guest Director of the Brighton Festival. The DVD can be purchased from the Robert Schalkenbach Foundation.China’s skyscraper craze ‘may herald economic crash’
Guardian UK Wednesday 11 January 2012 Tall-building boom may indicate impending disaster in China and India, claims report by Barclays Capital "Fred Harrison, a Georgist and research director of the Land Research Trust, wrote in his 1997 book The Chaos Makers that "by 2007 Britain and most of the other industrially advanced economies will be in the throes of frenzied activity in the land market … Land prices will be near their 18-year peak … on the verge of the collapse that will presage the global depression of 2010."NEW MOVIE How Land Value Tax would help Wildlife and ensure Its protection. The film is presented by Fred Harrison.
This interview shows the launch of The Killing Fields, an important new film that explores the relationship between wildlife, land, taxation and law. The film, presented by economist Fred Harrison, documents how the introduction of Land Value Tax would give greater value to wildlife and ensure its protection. The premiere event was hosted Oscar winner Vanessa Redgrave and attended by a number of Hollywood stars and leaders of Nature Conservation Charities.
THE KILLING FIELDS
The untold story of how landowners are making a financial killing while species are being wiped out in the fields of Britain and Europe and the work of wildlife conservationists is being undermined in a desperate race to prevent the obliteration of ecosystems. Trailer from Carlo Nero on Vimeo.THE KILLING FIELDS Trailer from Carlo Nero on Vimeo.
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Robert Schalkenbach Foundation (RSF) was organized in 1925 as an operating foundation to promote public awareness of the social philosophy and economic reforms advocated by Henry George (1839-1897), including the “single tax on land values”. To this end, RSF publishes and distributes books and articles, particularly those of Henry George, including Progress and Poverty, the best-selling original classic work, as well as a new abridgement using the language of the 21st century. These and other works can be found in our online library. Books by Henry George and other authors are available for purchase from our online bookstore.
In addition, the Foundation conducts scholarly research and carries out other projects to promote the principles of Henry George as they apply to issues of current interest.
Henry George began with the ethical premise that all people have an equal right to the use of the earth. From that he concluded that exclusive private ownership of land (natural resources) creates unwarranted special privileges. Furthermore, he observed that holding land out of production drives down real wages and the returns to capital equipment. This process is further exacerbated by taxes on production and income that:
- increase unemployment
- discourage productive investment
- encourage unproductive land speculation and rent-seeking
To counteract this self-destructive system, George advocated shifting taxes from labor and capital onto the value of land and natural resources.
In addition to his various writings, Henry George was well known for his two attempts to run for mayor of New York (during the first of which he came in second and a young Theodore Roosevelt came in third). He also traveled around the world promoting his vision of economic justice by his inspiring oratory. Many a young reformer got their start by reading or hearing Henry George. In Russia, George’s ideas were popularized by Leo Tolstoy, and in China by Sun Yat-Sen. Today, as a growing population confronts its need fairly, peacefully, and efficiently to allocate access to the gifts of nature, the ideas of Henry George have gained a new relevance.
Articles about this new relevance today can be found on this site. There is the stirring piece, “Who Was Henry George?”, by his granddaughter, the celebrated choreographer, Agnes DeMille. Also, you can read one of the best introductions of George’s thought: “Henry George and the Reconstruction of Capitalism” by the late Prof. Robert V. Andelson; and one of the best expositions of his relevance as “the Great Reconciler” of opposing economic systems, “Henry George 100 Years Later” by Prof. Mason Gaffney.
The Foundation takes its name from Robert Schalkenbach, an American typesetter and enthusiastic advocate of George’s vision who left in his will the seed money that started the foundation.
RSF is not the only organization promoting and developing what some now call “the Georgist paradigm”. Links to these other organizations are also found on this site, and we encourage you to visit them.
Further information about the Foundation can also be found on this site.
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