Talking of “old”, I came across a group of old email exchanges I saved from the Longwaves list to which I belonged until the list folded in the early noughties. (As usual, vitriolic personality clashes from a hopelessly intense handful was the main part of the problem.) Otherwise, we had some very good discussions and debates from many interesting personalities about the upcoming depression (although one or two thought such an outcome was impossible – eh, Eric/Dan?) Although the list was mainly concerned about the economy and proceedings within the share market, Tom Drake, having read an article of mine which connected the Kondratieff Longwave to the real estate market, invited me to join as I might have something to contribute. This was one of what must have been several hundred of my dispatches:
RE: tax
At 11:24 AM 1/14/00 +0900, you wrote:
>Survey: U.S. Thirty Times More Civilized
>A recent survey by the Tax Foundation estimated
>that Americans “will spend more per capita in 1999
>on taxes ($10,298) than on food ($2,693), clothing
>($1,404), and shelter ($5,833) combined.”
>In 1904, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. made the famous
>statement that “taxes are what we pay for a civilized
>society.” The Tax Foundation points out that we must
>be awfully civilized by now – taxes are fully 30 times
>greater (in 1999 dollars) than when Holmes spoke.
>(Sources: Tax Foundation, as reported in “CEI UpDate,”
>Competitive Enterprise Institute)
RE: tax
14 January 2000 08:49 UTC, Bryan Kavanagh wrote:
(Uh oh! I feel another tax rant coming on!)
Taxes shouldn’t exist but, foolishly, we let them. Why?! “The only certainties in life are death and taxes” is a vast con trick worked on our gullibility. The Land Values Research Group recently quantified the annual value of all Australian natural resources, i.e. its annual ‘resource rent’–not to be confused with taxes–to be more than our total taxation at all three levels of government. (This is likely to be the case also in the US and other countries.) So, if we were to use this ‘natural fund’ to draw revenues for the use and abuse of nature, we could:-
. give the planet a real chance
. give ourselves the ultimate tax break, by abolishing totally the destructive taxing of labour and capital
. reduce land prices towards zero (land price is simply the private capitalisation of its uncollected rent)
. halve the size of future mortgages
. halve the price of all goods and services (because ‘rents’ can’t be passed on in prices as taxes are)
. free up vast the armies of bureaucrats, lawyers and accountants working in the field of taxation to do something worthwhile with their lives
. create a genuine market in land and resources, removing at the same time the primary reason for seasons of economic recession and depression
. actually experience truly free markets and become free men and women
Taxes and land price are the real enemies of freedom, my brothers and sisters! Come over from the dark side! 🙂
(Ah! That didn’t half feel good.)
– Bryan Kavanagh
You say we need more funds to tackle poverty, homelessness, health, the environment, education and infrastructure? I say instituting the Henry Tax Review is a BIG step towards solving those problems.