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I’ve been slow about actually posting this, but back on Thursday, November 20th, The Washington Post printed an opinion column by Mike Bird, the author of The Land Trap, together with an image of Henry George’s bearded face parts of buildings. Mr. Bird writes about George and the impact of his books and ideas in the late nineteenth century, saying, “Land was at the forefront of American politics.”
After that, to quote Bird again, “The revolutionary left’s attack on capital left no special role for land, as the right pursued a campaign for widespread homeownership.” But, he says, land is roaring back into politics, and reports that from 2012 to 2024, the proportion of house prices accounted for by the land beneath the houses has risen from 36 percent to 59 percent. On the one hand, some people are demanding rent control and affordable housing programs which deliver benefits for some lucky tenants; on the other, homeowners in some jurisdictions are seeking the abolition or drastic limitation of the property tax. Neither of these is a real solution, and the column concludes, “Without a dramatic shift, the bitter new era of land politics is just getting started.”
I agree, and to give Mr. Bird credit, he seems to be more of a Georgist than I had thought from reading a review of his book. A real solution, as those who have been reading my blog have surely heard before, has to involve replacing other taxes, including the property tax on buildings, with land value taxation. Unfortunately, even if this idea is in circulation to some extent, it is not widely accepted, or even widely debated, and we can soon expect the bursting of the current land price bubble, which can be expected to lead to another Great Recession.
After that, to quote Bird again, “The revolutionary left’s attack on capital left no special role for land, as the right pursued a campaign for widespread homeownership.” But, he says, land is roaring back into politics, and reports that from 2012 to 2024, the proportion of house prices accounted for by the land beneath the houses has risen from 36 percent to 59 percent. On the one hand, some people are demanding rent control and affordable housing programs which deliver benefits for some lucky tenants; on the other, homeowners in some jurisdictions are seeking the abolition or drastic limitation of the property tax. Neither of these is a real solution, and the column concludes, “Without a dramatic shift, the bitter new era of land politics is just getting started.”
I agree, and to give Mr. Bird credit, he seems to be more of a Georgist than I had thought from reading a review of his book. A real solution, as those who have been reading my blog have surely heard before, has to involve replacing other taxes, including the property tax on buildings, with land value taxation. Unfortunately, even if this idea is in circulation to some extent, it is not widely accepted, or even widely debated, and we can soon expect the bursting of the current land price bubble, which can be expected to lead to another Great Recession.
