ideas, various

Some ideas that don’t fit the flow of a blog post.

Sample Page

This is an example page. It’s different from a blog post because it will stay in one place and will show up in your site navigation (in most themes). Most people start with an About page that introduces them to potential site visitors. It might say something like this: Hi there! I’m a bike messenger … Continue reading “Sample Page”

Leave a comment

Adam Curtis and Henry George

Thinking about how Adam Curtis’s documentary series have explained how we have been manipulated into thinking that individualism liberates us, by rejecting common spaces, being part of a society, and how Henry George wrote about how more people living on — and paying for access to — a finite resource like land are connected. This … Continue reading “Adam Curtis and Henry George”

Comments Off on Adam Curtis and Henry George

Land Value Taxation/Land Rents: an exploration

Being my collected thoughts on land rents/land value taxation as I have tried to understand and explain it — unedited, unexpurgated. [wbcr_php_snippet id=”6400″] And the collected works…

Comments Off on Land Value Taxation/Land Rents: an exploration

Land Value Taxation, 6

Time for another ramble down the local business corridor to see what, if anything, has changed. Oh, look, another closed business/property for sale. I expect it’s down to property taxes, driven by land values. Why else hold onto vacant land? It might be worth considering how we tax/value commercial property. The value of the land … Continue reading “Land Value Taxation, 6”

Comments Off on Land Value Taxation, 6

Land Value Taxation, 5

Coming back to this as a compelling argument for a land rent/land value tax on *all* commercial real estate in Seattle. Rentiers have been siphoning off wages for too long. Collectively, their holdings might dwarf everyone’s fave villain, Jeff Bezos. this is one of the most naked plutocratic things ive seen a landlord say in … Continue reading “Land Value Taxation, 5”

Comments Off on Land Value Taxation, 5

Land Value Taxation, 4

Seattle’s business and politics communities (is that 2 things? Or just 1?) are at loggerheads over wages and inequality, and we still hear arguments that raising the minimum wage kills business, despite evidence that proves the opposite — that good wages are good for business. But what if instead raising wages, these two (?) camps … Continue reading “Land Value Taxation, 4”

Comments Off on Land Value Taxation, 4

Land Value Taxation, 3

So in the midst of all this talk about a need for affordable housing, I learn that the Seattle Housing Authority (!) is selling (!!) 4.5 acres of land [http://www.djc.com/news/re/12109903.html]. Why sell it? Why not exchange the right to use the property, as an owner would get if they bought the land, in exchange for … Continue reading “Land Value Taxation, 3”

Comments Off on Land Value Taxation, 3

Land Value Tax continued

Ran an errand on foot — the best way to see a city — and I noted more business closings along a major highway inside the Seattle city limits. More open spaces/brownfields/derelict buildings to show off, I guess. So what’s the cause? High taxes/costs of doing business? Given that property taxes along that stretch are … Continue reading “Land Value Tax continued”

Comments Off on Land Value Tax continued

Intro to Land Value Taxation/land rents

This was my first attempt to understand and explain this old new idea. What is land value tax? How does it work? It requires some changes in how we think about land: no individuals or entity besides the state (county/municipality) can own land — that land is owned or held in common. You acquire the … Continue reading “Intro to Land Value Taxation/land rents”

Leave a comment

When two extremes bump into each other

What is about libertarianism that makes it so unique to the US? It’s like a bacterium that can only exists in an environment of prosperity but like so many parasites, it will kill its host. I grow more convinced that libertarianism and communism have more in common than their adherents will admit. Both are based … Continue reading “When two extremes bump into each other”

Leave a comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *