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  • Henry George: Progress and Poverty: An inquiry into the cause of industrial depressions and of increase of want with increase of wealth ... The Remedy
    This is perhaps the most important book ever written on the subjects of poverty, political economy, how we might live together in a society dedicated to the ideals Americans claim to believe are self-evident. It will provide you new lenses through which to view many of our most serious problems and how we might go about solving them: poverty, sprawl, long commutes, despoilation of the environment, housing affordability, wealth concentration, income concentration, concentration of power, low wages, etc. Read it online, or in hardcopy.
  • Bob Drake's abridgement of Henry George's original: Progress and Poverty: Why There Are Recessions and Poverty Amid Plenty -- And What To Do About It!
    This is a very readable thought-by-thought updating of Henry George's longer book, written in the language of a newsweekly. A fine way to get to know Henry George's ideas. Available online at progressandpoverty.org and http://www.henrygeorge.org/pcontents.htm

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« The Earth-for-All Calendar: October 31 -- Bossuet | Main | The Earth-for-All Calendar: November 1 -- Michelet »

October 31, 2012

The Blue-State Income Tax Deduction

I would love to see a map showing what states the people who take the income tax deduction for home mortgage interest live.  I think we'd find it was the so-called Blue states, where the value of land is higher, and wages are higher, and property taxes are higher.

Funny that we're willing to help subsidize the borrowing necessary for some people (buyers) to paying off other people (sellers) for value the sellers didn't create!  And then we don't tax those so-called "capital" gains much at all!  A few communities collect a few percent of each transaction, which isn't a great idea either, particularly when it is collected from the buyers, who likely borrow it!

Who gains?  the FIRE sector.  What else is new?  

How naive are we?  Don't ask!

 

 

Posted on October 31, 2012 at 09:20 PM in capital gains are land gains, FIRE sector, income tax, inter-generational equity, land value created by community, real estate bubble, tax reform, urban land value |

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