Blog - Land Value Tax Campaign

USA – Land of opportunity

Written on 5 November 2008. Posted in History.

The euphoria following the election of Barak Obama is understandable and seems to give fresh force to the idea that in the United States, anyone can “make it”. So powerful was this notion that in the impoverished Jewish communities of Eastern Europe in the early 1900s, the United States was called the “Guldene Medina”. But even then, it was history. Most immigrants from Eastern...

Social mobility improves

Written on 4 November 2008. Posted in General.

Polly Toynbee has been talking about the latest figures on social mobility in Britain, which suggest things are improving, but only slightly. She puts the problem down to educational and pay inequalities and points to the Nordic countries as exemplars.

The mechanism of exploitation

Written on 29 October 2008. Posted in Marxism.

Marx was much concerned with the notion of exploitation, which he regarded as inherent to Capitalism. But the only people who can exploit other people’s labour are landowners. They can even exploit owners of capital, properly defined. (that is one of the defects of Marx, he lumps land and capital together and calls them both capital). The situation is understandable with this parable.

Marxism’s fatal flaw

Written on 29 October 2008. Posted in Marxism.

Marx’s analysis of capitalism is plain wrong. Marx lumps together land and capital and calls them both “land”. A disastrous confusion. Capital is produced by labour. Land is fixed in supply and is a gift of nature (or of God but there is a widepread view just now that he doesn’t exist). Both workers and the owners of capital are both at the mercy of landowners. Which is why...

BBC Any Answers?

Written on 26 October 2008. Posted in General.

Has anyone ever succeeded in getting the subject of land value taxation mentioned on “Any Answers?”, the programme that follows Any Questions? at 2.00pm on Saturdays. This week, the first question was “Who is to blame for the crisis?” Just to see what would happen, I sent in this email, to no effect.

The Keynesian Option

Written on 24 October 2008. Posted in General.

During the Great Depression, a programme of public works was initiated by President Roosevelt as a means of relieving unemployement. Will the same thing be needed again?

Was ist die Bodenwertsteuer?

Written on 9 October 2008. Posted in Non-English.

Die Bodenwertsteuer ist eine Methode mit welcher die oeffentlichen Staatseinnahmen mittels einer jaehrlichen Steuer auf dem Rentenwert des Bodens erhoben werden. Sie wuerde die bestehenden Steuern ersetzen, nicht diesen hinzugefuegt werden. Wenn richtig angewendet, wuerde eine Bodenwertsteuer eine ganze Reihe von sozialen und wirtschaftlichen Initiativen unterstuetzen, einschliesslich der Wohnungsbereich,...

Qu’est-ce que la taxe sur la valeur du sol?

Written on 9 October 2008. Posted in Non-English.

La taxe sur la valeur du sol (TVS) est une méthode permettant d’augmenter les revenus publics au moyen d’un prélèvement annuel sur la valeur locative d’une parcelle. Cette taxe remplacerait, mais ne se rajouterait pas à toutes les taxes actuelles. Etant bien appliquée, la TVS serait utilisée pour financer un grand éventail d’initiatives sociales et économiques, y compris...

Recession can still be averted

Written on 7 October 2008. Posted in General.

Recession can be averted by an infrastructure and public works programme.

After New Labour

Written on 23 September 2008. Posted in Marxism.

Polly Toynbee is again writing in the Guardian, saying that Labour still has a chance if it changes its ways. Too late. By the time another Labour government comes to power in Britain, she will probably be too old to care anyway. Britain and the Labour Party are going to go through the toughest of times in the next few years. Labour may not even survive as a party. Nobody knows how the financial...

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