A Libertarian on the Land Question

Jack Jones

[2000]

One of my original attractions to the land value tax idea of Henry George was that it seemed to be able to work on a local level as well as have a global component, and that it could be purely libertarian with a return of all land value as a citizens dividend a la Thomas Paine inspiration, partially used for government revenue in a centrist government or used totally for government revenues in a socialist approach. I figured something that good and flexible had to have something going for it. You can check out www.tpaine.org for the efforts to open the debate in the LP and also dialoging to the left.

About 1995 Mike O'Mara and I approached the Maryland Libertarian Party on the issue of Land Value Taxation, in Convention I was unable to get a second to my motion to debate the merits of the LVT. The following year we persuaded the Convention Committee to include a panel on taxation, to include proponents of the flat income tax, the national sales tax, and the land value tax. This panel did start the debate, by May of 1998 the Maryland LP had adopted in to its Program (interim steps to the LP Platform) a call to eliminate the state sales tax, income tax (local and state), and improvements tax (state and local) leaving only assessments on land. At the 1999 MDLP Convention a long time opponent of the LVT made a motion to remove it from the program, he could not get a second out of some 60 members present. This year I was unable to attend the Convention, and I was told by a friend that one of the strong opponents of a few years back was holding forth to a skeptical member on the virtues of the LVT.

Of four strong LP Activists I have discussed the LVT with over the past 5 years, I have been able to get three to read Progress and Poverty, they are now strong proponents of LVT. They are out there writing letters and talking the talk. On the other hand of the dozens of liberals I have talked to and they have agreed its a good idea, have fallen back to being proponents of income, sales, and property taxes.

Also on the bright side is HGFA/CSE that keep on bring town after town into the LVT. Education does not have to be done with every one. In a Myers-Briggs sort of way the population breaks down into four types of people, Intellectuals about 5%, Compassionates about 10%, Administrators about 20%, and Party People about 65%. The people to persuade are the Intellectuals (think tank types to generate information), Compassionates (ngo caring types, social service, environment, et cetera they want to help), Administrators (the people who like to see things run smoothly, Rotarians, Chamber of Commerce, Town Officials), The Party People (the people who just want to have fun, live life with out a lot of bother, what ever is happening is ok if it does not take time away from their fun) The first three are essentially the 35% that are running things, except its more like 15-20% because of the majority of these are controlling, not the whole group. So search around in these groups for people to persuade and try for the PAULINE effect, try to persuade the activist and possibly the opposition, because if you can persuade the captain he will then do the troops for you. If you persuade one of the troops, not as much effect is had. Be nice, be patient, be present, LVT is a great idea that will sell its self if you do not keep the person on the defensive.