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To continue with the afternoon of July 29, 2017 (I really need to do these posts more often), the eighth of the nine Georgist books Bill Batt discussed was Game of Mates: How Favours Bleed the Nation, by Cameron Murray and Paul Frijters, from Australia. Backroom deals by government and quasi-government organizations make some people rich, others not.
Bill Batt also presented a table from two American economists, purporting to show how much of wealth comes from political connections. It was supposedly 84% in Colombia, 66% in India, 65% in Australia, 64% in Indonesia, 55% in the Republic of Korea, etc., down to 16% in Japan, 8% in Taiwan, 6% in Germany, 4% in France, 2% in Canada, 1% in the United States, and essentially 0% in the United Kingdom and Hong Kong. I’m not sure I believe these numbers, but anyway, there they are.
The ninth book was The Public Financiers: Ricardo, George, Clark, Ramsey, Mirrlees, Vickrey, Wicksell, Musgrave, Buchanan, Tiebout, and Stiglitz, written by Colin Read, a Georgist, although not a Georgist book per se.
Dr. Batt said that the Europeans, Australians, etc., are active, so our cause is not lost.
Then there was a Q&A session. Bill Batt said that neoclassical economics is dominant in the U.S., but not necessarily everywhere. Thailand, Batt’s old Peace Corps country, to which he has returned every ten years or less, is instituting a two-rate property tax, with a 5% rate on vacant land.
Bill Batt also presented a table from two American economists, purporting to show how much of wealth comes from political connections. It was supposedly 84% in Colombia, 66% in India, 65% in Australia, 64% in Indonesia, 55% in the Republic of Korea, etc., down to 16% in Japan, 8% in Taiwan, 6% in Germany, 4% in France, 2% in Canada, 1% in the United States, and essentially 0% in the United Kingdom and Hong Kong. I’m not sure I believe these numbers, but anyway, there they are.
The ninth book was The Public Financiers: Ricardo, George, Clark, Ramsey, Mirrlees, Vickrey, Wicksell, Musgrave, Buchanan, Tiebout, and Stiglitz, written by Colin Read, a Georgist, although not a Georgist book per se.
Dr. Batt said that the Europeans, Australians, etc., are active, so our cause is not lost.
Then there was a Q&A session. Bill Batt said that neoclassical economics is dominant in the U.S., but not necessarily everywhere. Thailand, Batt’s old Peace Corps country, to which he has returned every ten years or less, is instituting a two-rate property tax, with a 5% rate on vacant land.
