The hottest Substack posts of curiousgeorgist

And their main takeaways

Imagining a simpler tax code on Tax Day

58 implied HN points • 18 Apr 23
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Tax reform
  1. Some countries have a simpler tax system where relevant parties provide tax information, eliminating the need to file taxes.
  2. Complicated tax systems can benefit billionaires by creating loopholes and exceptions.
  3. Advocates of the Single Tax propose a Land Value Tax to simplify taxes, reduce inequality, and make tax filing easier.

How I became Georgism curious

39 implied HN points • 05 Dec 22
  1. Notable figures like Leo Tolstoy, Milton Friedman, and Winston Churchill were Georgists, followers of 19th-century economist Henry George.
  2. The author reflects on the conflict between heart (liberal ideology, social justice) and brain (critical thinking, economic growth) in their life.
  3. Georgism is presented as a potential solution to addressing both dynamism in the economy and decency for all people, offering common-sense improvements that can appeal to individuals of various political persuasions.

$4,000 per year to every citizen of Boston?

19 implied HN points • 26 Jan 23
  1. Starting with a single city for Georgist experiments can avoid hurdles
  2. Cities have a lot of renters who may support policies for shared prosperity
  3. City governments own valuable land and undervaluing it limits potential benefits

What is Georgism?

19 implied HN points • 23 Nov 22
  1. Georgism is a political and economic philosophy that believes in a unique balance between capitalism and socialism.
  2. Land is crucial because it's needed for creating wealth, and its supply is fixed, unlike labor and capital.
  3. Georgism proposes to tax away unearned income from land, redistribute it to the people, and potentially eliminate other taxes.
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What do we mean by “Tax the Land”?

0 implied HN points • 28 Nov 22
  1. Taxing Land is the core of Georgism, blending socialism and capitalism.
  2. Land's value comes from community rather than owner's actions.
  3. Land Value Tax only taxes income due to Land, not Improvements.

Why do we never have enough for public services?

0 implied HN points • 14 Jan 23
  1. Supply-side progressivism suggests that subsidizing demand without increasing supply can make things more expensive.
  2. Government spending tends to increase the value of land, which drives up prices and creates affordability problems.
  3. Implementing a Land Value Tax can create a sustainable revenue source for government programs without exacerbating the issues caused by fixed land quantities.

Why can’t the landlord just raise the rent to cover the tax?

0 implied HN points • 23 Nov 22
  1. A Land Value Tax cannot be passed onto consumers because the supply of land is fixed.
  2. Taxes are typically passed onto consumers when producers can reduce supply to offset the tax.
  3. Landlords cannot raise rent to pass on a Land Value Tax, they can only increase profits by improving their property.

How Georgism can end inflation and the boom and bust cycle

0 implied HN points • 10 Jan 23
  1. Georgism proposes a Land Value Tax to end the boom and bust cycle and inflation.
  2. Inflation is caused by policies to delay economic downturns; good debt helps growth, bad debt leads to crashes.
  3. Land speculation and debt in real estate contribute significantly to economic crashes, but a Land Value Tax could redirect debt to productive assets and prevent future crashes.

Will there be a housing crash in 2026?

0 implied HN points • 23 Dec 22
  1. Economists predict cycles of boom and bust in real estate, such as the 18 year property cycle theory.
  2. Debt cycles influence economic crashes - over-borrowing can lead to a recession.
  3. Land speculation, which does not create new wealth, may contribute to the cyclical nature of economic downturns.

Will the rent go up or down under Georgism?

0 implied HN points • 08 Dec 22
  1. Georgism results in rents increasing but tax reduction ultimately benefits renters
  2. New incentives under Georgism lead to landlords investing in property quality and lowering rents
  3. Georgism incentivizes landlords to build more units, creating competition and downward pressure on rents

Medicare for All, but for Land

0 implied HN points • 01 Dec 22
  1. Georgism suggests replacing all taxes with a single tax on the unimproved value of land, simplifying tax payments and potentially increasing government revenue.
  2. Citizen's Dividend, a concept from Georgism, proposes redistributing proceeds of Land Rent back to everyone, turning citizens into landlords benefiting from land value growth.
  3. Georgism can provide a defense against displacement and gentrification by allowing public revenue to grow during land value booms, benefiting the community.