Down for the count 2

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1. 

   Macrocompassion Posted 5:31 am
   25 Feb 2006

   Poverty and the Rich"When will the poor of this world be able to stand up for their rights. Never, and they don't deserve to. 'Cause if nature had intended them to be rich and/or happy they wouldn't have been made poor in the first place. Poverty is not a happenning it is an illness and it brings with it squallor. If you don't like the poor in your city simply make it so damn expensive for them that they have to go and live elsewhere.
   If you pass abegger in the street, kick him in the ribs from me. But if you believe in the ethics of sharing wealth (in other words the welfare state) then may you too become as poor as he."
   The above view-point is not held by the present writer, and is written here to show that its so easy to take an attitude of selfishness and mistrust. Poverty will not go away with better times because these are the better times. Poverty will cease when the rich stop exploiting what they believe to be their right (of access to land that might otherwise be properly used), so that those without jobs can have the chance to produce goods more cheeply and make an honnest living. Poverty will cease when those who take the thing they did not create namely the land value and then don't pay for it, whether they use it properly or not. Tax land not people.
   Land tax will allow tax relief of other taxes. It is easy to collect which means less governmental waste in fighting tax dogers. Tax on land will spoil the huge amount of corruption that results from land development plans and the associated speculation in it. It is not worth while to hold land out of use if the cost is high, so tax land and allow its price to fall. Then production costs will also be eased and employment grow. That how poverty will cease, not by hand-outs.  
   
   Aim: to satisfy my unlimited desires with the least effort.
   
   David Chester

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2. 

   SMLowry Posted 5:52 am
   25 Feb 2006

   Not clearIf we tax land, as opposed to people and things (I'm assuming you want to do away with income tax, sales tax, property/building tax, etc.) then won't that encourage developing every square inch of land? To get the most value out of it to pay for the land tax? Several years ago I worked with a group of folks who followed the teachings of Henry George on land taxes and while I understand the reasoning, I'm not sure the result would be what land taxers hope. Maybe I just don't get it.

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