Georgist Conference in Pittsburgh, Part Thirteen

After lunch on Wednesday, July 24, we heard from Dan Sullivan and others on “Labor Issues Then and Now.” Mr. Sullivan spoke about Henry George on free trade versus Terence Powderly and others. These days, he said, foreigners don’t just use dollars to buy American good, but to buy American land and debt, making us indentured servants. There are four reasons to dump goods: Buy land, get people in debt to you, pay your own debts, or pay your land rents.

Gib Halverson said a bit about the limits of free trade. We don’t import the products of child or prison labor; we don’t import ivory, lionskin, Chinese coats made with dog fur, etc.

Dan Sullivan talked about what Werner Sombart, a German, wrote about nineteenth century America, and why there was no socialism. In the late nineteenth century, there was criticism of labor unions, the closed shop, etc. The American people mostly weren’t socialists, but they rallied for labor unions, because they disliked banks, robber barons, etc., more.

Sullivan also said that Trump was practicing identity politics for whites. The Democrats had virtue-signaled for blacks, LBGTQ+, etc.

To be continued.

We Hope You Enjoyed Your Tax Audit

A few months ago, the IRS looked into my 2017 charitable deductions (not actually a full tax audit). Recently, I received a questionnaire from a firm working with the IRS; they wanted me to report on my interactions with the IRS, and how I was treated, so I filled out the questionnaire and mailed it in.

The questions were basically reasonable, even if I did not fully recollect the answers, but they were directed at small businessmen and the self-employed who had been audited. I used the space where the form asked for my recommendations to write that my examination had not been a full audit, and that I was a salaried employee, not self-employed or a small businessman.

There is a sort of humor in the IRS having a polling firm ask people how they liked their audits.