The great Mason Gaffney will be ninety next Friday. He has become recognised in his own lifetime as one of the handful of economists who have upheld the banner of intellectual rigour within neoclassical economics’ vast deceit.

A companion of Gaffney’s quiet integrity has been his witty and incisive turn of phrase.

The following paper by Brian Czech is as much a tribute to Mason Gaffney as it is to the far-seeing economics of Henry George. I recommend it as an excellent read:  Czech-Production-Function-and-Henry-George

To your health, Mase!

“Growing divide between rich and poor in the Australian housing market”  –      Jessica Irvine, Herald Sun

“Country’s rich have lion’s share of income growth”  –      Tim Colebatch, The Age

“Where on earth are the world’s richest 1%?”    – The Guardian

Cathy McGowan’s successful campaign for the Victorian federal seat of Indi shouldn’t go unremarked here. Insofar as she ran as an independent against the Liberal and Labor parties, her win was inspirational to all those Australian voters locked out by the behind-the-scenes policy-making of the major parties and their rigid party discipline.

The rurally-based voters of Indi obviously decided sitting member Sophie Mirabella was no longer for them on the basis of McGowan being a known local identity whose voice might represent them better.

Time will tell.

Although there are clear differences, not the least of which are the respective results, Indi reminds me of the federal election for the South Australian seat of Kingston back in 1990.

Australian Democrat Senator and leader of the party, Janine Haines, had bravely decided to stand for Kingston to make the switch from the Upper House.

I wasn’t a Democrat voter, but noted Haines had made statements to the effect that the Australian Democrats were considering reintroducing the federal land tax and–had it already been in place–Australia may not have experienced the recent real estate bubble that was beginning to burst across Australia.

As a land-taxer myself, her strong statements caught my attention, because favouring a land tax was certainly going to bring the scare-mongers out of their closets and into the election.

I wasn’t wrong. The Labor and Liberal parties immediately joined forces to let the voters of Kingston know that “Janine Haines is after your house!” That, apparently, is the effect of a land tax. It was shameful stuff and typical bully tactics.

That scare did the trick.  Sitting Labor member, Gordon Bilney, was returned to office with a vote of 37%; Liberal Judy Fuller received 33% of the vote, and Janine Haines got a remarkable 26.4%, despite both parties having ganged up on her to ensure she couldn’t possibly make it into the House of Representatives.

I retained some of the advertising, to remind Georgists of the forces with which they have to contend in order to get a land tax up politically. Had Georgists been better organised, we might have supported Janine Haines better than we did.

Not that Cathy McGowan is a land-taxer like Haines, but she’s independent of the bully boys and was still able to overcome them. It was a remarkable result, so I certainly congratulate her and wish her well as the seat of Indi’s new federal representative.  Let’s hope she proves to be a Tony Windsor.

The full primer in words of one syllable is here.

The US financial system is falling apart and becoming more than worrisome. However, despite Republican Tea Partiers wanting to “simplify the tax code”, I don’t think they really have a clue on what’s required. Georgists are thin on the ground, you see?

The President and the Democrats are lost, too: debt on debt will fix things – er, won’t it?

Have you seen even one politician or senior economist saying the US has to abolish many taxes urgently and to capture economic rents for revenue if the US is to get out of the doldrums?

So, I guess we must expect the debt ceiling will be raised once more by October 17, avoiding the issue and acting to worsen the depression.

Not good.

MY PREAMBLE TO THE AUSTRALIAN CONSTITUTION

“Acknowledging the first peoples’ understanding that our land and natural resources are common property, we the citizens of Australia declare the income therefrom to be the commonwealth owed equally to all: the natural source of revenue for the nation.

We further declare that all arbitrary tax imposts upon labour, thrift and industry be gradually abolished in order to introduce this proper revenue source to the nation.

We also hold the pursuit of happiness for all is impossible  unless we thus acknowledge the earth to be the birthright of all people – and that purported bills of human rights make no sense at all without this primary adjustment.”