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Henry George Foundation,Henry George Foundation

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Endorsement

"Removing almost all business taxes, including property taxes on improvements, excepting only taxes reflecting the marginal social cost of public services rendered to specific activities, and replacing them with taxes on site values, would substantially improve the economic efficiency of the jurisdiction."William Vickrey, professor of economics and Nobel Laureate

 

Eight Nobel Laureates in Economics have endorsed a tax on land values rather than on production.

 

Kensington Meets the Mayor

The scene last night was a packed auditorium at Kensington High School. After short drive through shattered streets, I stood outside handing out fliers explaining our CommonWealth idea for land value tax in the city of Philadelphia.

Inside, a throng -  a little more on edge than the previous week's crowd at South Philly High - asked respectful questions interspersed with some angry comments. The place was packed, and I didn't get a chance to speak.  It's tough to offer an idea when so many people are obviously hurt and angry that what defines their neighborhoods: libraries, the fire house, the swimming pools are on the chopping block.

Kensington in particular is a distressing story.  A retired lady told me how wonderful the place used to be, how close everyone was.  It's hard for them to accept the fact that government and the larger community has disengaged from their lives so much. 

The streets are already a mess, the blasted and abandoned factories totter in the cold December wind.  These cuts are a personal issue for a long-neglected part of our city.

Since the land value tax will affect this area immensely, I will go back, again and again, to offer what we know, so they can determine if it will help.

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