There is little doubt that much of the turbulence and uncertainty in recent politics stems from the financial insecurity Americans are feeling. There are many explanations for this – the uncertainty in the current job market and the dramatic fluctuations in the American economy. One… Read More »Financial insecurity among the Public
This past September, tens of thousands of people, including myself, sheltered indoors. Not just because of COVID mandates, but to escape the forest fire smoke engulfing the west coast. The sky was an eerie blood-orange and the air quality index exceeded 500, an extremely hazardous… Read More »Using a Carbon Fee and Dividend: A Tool to Overcome the Climate Crisis
As Donald Trump continues to contest and hopes to overturn the 2020 election with unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud, it is worth remembering that the United States has a long history of respecting the peaceful transfer of power, even when fraud was not just suspected,… Read More »History Continues to Repeat Itself on the Issue of Voter Fraud and Election Reform
As we reach the finish line of 2020, many of us do so with a sense of relief and cautious optimism about what 2021 might bring. At the Robert Schalkenbach Foundation, 2020 was certainly not an easy year, but it was one marked by considerable change… Read More »Reflecting on 2020. Anticipating 2021!
As we collectively stare down the holidays, the reality that our celebrations won’t look or feel the same as in other years is inescapable. The range of differences varies, of course. For my family, it’s planning our winter holidays without extended family for the first… Read More »It’s time to get creative
As a rule, people have a general aversion to discussions of tax policy. Except for the most elementary understanding – progressive, neutral, regressive, or exempt or non-exempt – public discourse on taxation is mostly banal or non-existent. It’s really no wonder, because political leaders have… Read More »The Common Aversion to Tax Study
In response to an article written by Harrison Astbury on November 18, 2020 Why a property tax is not the answer, I believe thatAstbury is half right. Real estate consists of two types of property, land and improvements. A property tax on buildings and other… Read More »Why a property tax on land value is indeed the answer – Op-Ed
The rush to declare the ‘death of cities’ in the wake of COVID-19 was almost certainly premature, given that rural areas are now struggling to contain the virus to nearly the same extent as urban areas did in the spring. However, the virus has dealt… Read More »Land Value Capture Can Help Mass Transit Systems Rebuild Post Pandemic
I broadly agree with Frank de Jong regarding UBIs (UBI self-defeating unless funded by rental value capture): to do universal basic income without a land value tax is foolish, and fundamentally unsustainable. However, I disagree with the characterization of “self-defeating”, for reasons of both a… Read More »Even an Imperfect UBI Not Necessarily “Self-Defeating”
In the last weeks, our attention has (rightly) been focused at the national level, and in a time when the word “unprecedented” has been used so often it barely registers, it was hardly surprising that the 2020 Presidential election was one for the record books. … Read More »The Presidential Election is Over. It’s Time to Think Local.
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