By Lee Hachadoorian and Frank de Jong The US economy is in tatters. But this is not only because of the response to COVID-19, which is just the latest disruption. Computers, the internet and automation have been integral in eliminating entire classes of low-skill jobs.… Read More »RSF Backs Basic Income as Antidote to Social and Economic Fragmentation
Purpose of This Report This report provides the results of a preliminary analysis to determine the on-the-ground effects of implementing a land value tax (LVT) in Erie, Pennsylvania. While the findings contained herein give an accurate representation of changes in the general tax trends within… Read More »Is a Land Value Tax Right for Erie, Pennsylvania?
Housing as a human right has become a rallying cry across the United States and in many countries, especially in cities. More and more people are perplexed as to why housing is out of reach for all but the wealthy. Why have the needs of… Read More »Is COVID-19 spending fueling speculative vacancies?
In the first chapter of her new book, “Antitrust: Taking on Monopoly Power from the Gilded Age to the Digital Age,” Senator Amy Klobuchar tells the story behind the board game “Monopoly”, her favorite game growing up. She recounts how the earliest known version of… Read More »BOOK REVIEW: “Antitrust: Taking on Monopoly Power from the Gilded Age to the Digital Age.”
By: Matthew Downhour and Mihali Felipe Perhaps nothing defines a society more than its ideas on property – that is, things that people possess, indefinitely have control over, and have responsibility over. While what we do and can do with our property are easy to… Read More »An Objective Look at Land and Entropy
Property taxes are the most important revenue source for most cities and towns in the U.S., providing funding for a variety of local services and infrastructure. Unfortunately, traditional property taxes’ emphasis on taxing the value of improvements – like homes and businesses – can produce… Read More »What are the on-the-ground effects of a land value tax? Lessons from the Pennsylvania experience.
Josie Faass – Executive Director of Robert Schalkenbach Foundation (RSF) and the Co-Director of the Center for Property Tax Reform (CPTR) – recaps lessons learned from a session at the 2021 International Association of Assessing Officers – How To Fix An Assessor’s Office & Not… Read More »Josie Faass Comments On “How To Fix An Assessor’s Office & Not Lose Your Mind Trying”
“Don’t tax me. Don’t tax you. Tax that man behind the tree!” Recent disasters and folks looking to buy houses are driving renewed concerns over resilience, affordability and sustainability. The “supply” of houses is low and mortgage interest rates are relatively low, so builders and… Read More »What taxes are “fair”?
This is the first in a series of articles discussing housing affordability, economic justice, and inequality in the United States. Afew months ago, I took the plunge and bought a home the traditional way, house and land packaged as one. Buying a home this way was… Read More »How Our Obsession with Owning the Land Beneath our Homes Is Driving the Housing Affordability Crisis (and What to Do about It)
On legal process grounds, the U.S. Supreme Court has just ended the Federal eviction moratorium about halfway through its sixty-day extension. But eviction moratoriums in seven states and the District of Columbia continue, as the homelessness crisis the Federal moratorium was intended to curb persists.… Read More »The Eviction Crisis: Noise and Insight
