The hottest Substack posts of Progress and Poverty

And their main takeaways
205 implied HN points β€’ 28 Feb 24
  1. The atmosphere is an absolutely scarce resource that commands an economic rent, similar to land, making it crucial to distribute the costs of climate change equitably among present and future generations.
  2. Georgist principles suggest that natural resource rents, like those from emissions rights, should be shared equally among all members of the community, rather than favoring those who first utilized the resource.
  3. Implementing a Georgist cap-and-trade system for emissions rights could achieve a fair distribution globally, ensuring that everyone has equal access to the atmosphere while transitioning to a more sustainable future.
125 implied HN points β€’ 14 Feb 24
  1. Land auctions could be a promising approach for accurate land valuation without the need for land assessors.
  2. Through auctions, land values can be accurately determined by separating land and property sales.
  3. The bargaining dynamics in post-auction home sales can impact prices but can be managed through tax rate adjustments.
159 implied HN points β€’ 31 Jan 24
  1. Georgists scrutinize speculative investing in land, seeing land rent as unearned income.
  2. Groundly's offer of buying just-the-house and renting the land may seem affordable upfront but comes with hidden costs and responsibilities.
  3. Traditional lenders like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac may have challenges financing Groundly-type leasebacks, raising concerns about the viability of the business model.