georgism broken record ad nausium

[FrankChodorov]

I think all of this eminent domain stuff comes down to paying for schools. It is always for the children .... and old guys that buy viagra.

you also have to understand this in the context of what happened to Bridgeport, CT (a neighboring city) that went into state receivership in the 70's/80's.

The same thing will happen to Hartford and New Haven.  Most cities will fold soon due to the increasing wellfare load and increasing expense of social services.  They don't all have a beautifull neighborhood on the water to steal and give to the highest bidder.

actually Hartford and New Haven are considering shifting to a land value taxation system...

http://www.progress.org/2005/prop15.htm

excerpt:
The law with the best chance of passage is in Connecticut. SB 977 will permit cities with a population greater than 100,000 to enact LVT. That includes such troubled towns as Hartford and New Haven.

After decades of infusions of taxpayer cash with little result, people in those towns now believe the tax system itself must be changed to encourage capital investment and address the real problem of speculation in vacant land and abandoned buildings.

"The City of Hartford as well as other municipalities across the state lose a great amount of revenue for undeveloped land and vacant lots when such lots are paved over and used as parking facilities," said Hartford Mayor Eddie Perez at legislative hearings in March. "By correcting this problem with a land value tax, the state will create a more equitable system where all businesses pay their fair share of property tax (not only those in buildings)."

Absentee Owners Would Pay

A study ("Impact of a Two-Rate Tax in Hartford") conducted in 2004 by this author for the Center for the Study of Economics showed 78 percent of Hartford homeowners would get a tax decrease, and vacant lots owned by (mostly) absentees would receive a tax increase, under an LVT system.

Many urban professionals and officials are coming to believe the nation's cities can't be fixed by government subsidies, government intervention, and more taxes. "Taxing the ground rent that otherwise accretes to locations makes real estate more liquid and responsive to market forces," said political scientist and consultant H. William Batt, who has studied LVT for state and local governments. "Untaxing wages and interest provides the additional wherewithal for wider and deeper entry into those markets."

[FrankChodorov]

This will just add to the rampant property desertion that has been going on in these cities for years.  Most of the vacant property in Hartford is already owned by the city.  They control those parking lots and allow crooks to run them.
Cities with runnaway minority populations like Hartford, Bridgeport and New Haven are cooked.  They can try to move responsible people back into the city by subsidising old downtown buildings into condos, but, eventually they will be lucky to get in and out of them alive.  It will be: "Escape From __________"  Fill in the blank.

Harrisburg, Pa. shifted their property taxes off of buildings and onto land values in the 1980's and went from being the second most distressed city in the US to one of the best...

excerpt from same article:

The unpopularity of the property tax is axiomatic, yet it remains the revenue source of choice for most local governments, including school districts. Sales taxes are regressive, and business and income taxation tend to deflate any local economy in this age of mobile people and capital. For local governments wondering what to do, one idea making headway is land value taxation (LVT).
Whereas the typical real property tax applies to land and improvements on the land at the same rate, LVT taxes land at a higher rate, while reducing or even eliminating the tax on improvements. Under LVT private land is taxed on the basis of its value rather than how it is used, encouraging cities, especially older ones, to consider LVT as a way to provide a stable revenue source without punishing investment.

Twenty cities in Pennsylvania have used LVT for several decades, and serious efforts are underway to expand its use in the Keystone State and permit cities in other states to use it. Harrisburg, the state capital, uses LVT and has experienced lower taxes for homeowners and employers and a rare revival of a once-moribund downtown. Mayor Stephen Reed credits LVT with playing a major role in Harrisburg's rejuvenation. "As part of our economic development incentives, the land value tax policy is key, and without it, a significant amount of new investment would not have occurred here during recent years," Reed said.

Reed added that while land value tax policy is one of several tools the city uses to improve its economy and quality of life, without land value taxation "it would be particularly more difficult to attract and retain taxable real estate investment."

Philadelphia Considering Adoption

Nearly unique among U.S. cities, Philadelphia has suffered from a lethal tax "cocktail" of local income taxes, punitive business taxes, low property taxes, and a reputation for a city government more concerned with dealmaking than sane policy.

That may be changing. Last year, the Philadelphia Tax Reform Commission recommended adoption of LVT. In late 2001 the Philadelphia city controller, Jonathan Saidel, had released a landmark tax reform document that embraced land value taxation. This year, the local assessment authority will reassess the entire city (an important step in preparing for LVT), and Saidel is running for mayor.

Three separate studies indicate nearly 80 percent of the city's homeowners--and nearly all poor, working, and senior homeowners--would see tax reductions under an LVT plan.

[FrankChodorov]

probably just to inform him that he has no individual freedom of speech rights (holding a sign with a message directed at the federal employees) in collectively owned buildings as it may disrupt the business that the building is intended for and that if he continues to repeatedly do it they will have to eventually arrest him (which may infact be his purpose).

[FrankChodorov]

Our Founders understood that people would be responsible for their own education, and the early Massachusetts experiments in public education were rightly derided.

how many years exactly has local property taxes paid for public education in NH?

50, 100, 150 yrs?

try from 1789...

http://64.233.187.104/search?q=cache:T1hVaTXQDgYJ:www.lordtimothydexterpress.com/111704/taxpdfs/judact.pdf+%22public+education+history%22+NH&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=1&client=firefox-a

[FrankChodorov]

Schmitt cited him for giving out handbills on Fed property on the 11th.

in otherwords you have no specific individual freedom of speech right on collectively owned property?

[FrankChodorov]

I wonder how much it "cost" the taxpayers to serve this $150 citation on Dada?

The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides:

"Congress shall make no law . . . abridging . . . the right of the people . . . to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

The clear text of the First Amendment appears to protect Dada's right to petition the gubmint for a redress of grievances.  He was (allegedly) distributing flyers containing his "grievance" (people being employed by the IRS) and how they could be redressed (by those people exercising their right to quit working for the IRS).

Of course, the clear text never really means anything once it gets into the hands of lawyers, politicians, and judges.  It is interesting that the ICE is wasting its time on $150 tickets when there is a congressman sexually soliciting 16 year olds on the internet.

you have no first amendment rights in collectively owned buildings where the excercise of said rights will disrupt the business being transacted that the building was intended for...

if I wanted to go use the town plow (collectively owned property) to clear my driveway I would have to get prior approval...whereas if I want to access any of the lakes owned in common in NHI need no one's prior approval and I can freely proceed so long as my use/access does not infringe on the equal rights of any other individual.

that is why protests on the sidewalks are places for freedom of speech...because there is an inherent common right of way within the sidewalks.

on the other hand there have been three recent arrests in NH where peace activists have gone to their federal representatives office to attempt to meet with them to discuss the IRaq war and have been arrested when they wouldn't leave the office after "business hours"

presumably Bass, Bradley, Gregg, & Sununu offices are set-up to deal with constituency issues such as "redress of greivances"

[aries]

...

If you have a right in one place why not somewhere else.

[Dreepa]

whereas if I want to access any of the lakes owned in common in NHI need no one's prior approval and I can freely proceed so long as my use/access does not infringe on the equal rights of any other individual.

Frank does that mean that every lake that is 'owned in common' has a place to access the lake for no fee?

[KBCraig]

If a broken record plays in the woods, does anyone hear it?

[Kat Kanning]

LOL!!!!!!!!!

[FrankChodorov]

whereas if I want to access any of the lakes owned in common in NHI need no one's prior approval and I can freely proceed so long as my use/access does not infringe on the equal rights of any other individual.

Frank does that mean that every lake that is 'owned in common' has a place to access the lake for no fee?

yes - there was a huge fight 5-10 years ago over public access to Squam Lake and an ongoing one at Lake Sunapee.

by the way the lake has to be over 20 acres.

[FrankChodorov]

...

If you have a right in one place why not somewhere else.

what "place" are you referring to have a right to?

[FrankChodorov]

A guard got out and delivered a warning that I'd be arrested if I went onto state property.

When I got back on the right of way he said arright good luck and seemed to mean it.

Then I went to  my car and got my big Free Lauren Canario / NHfree.com sign and held it on the right of way outside the jail for about 45 minutes as guards came and went.  There were also maybe 500 normal people cars that drove past and saw me during that time.  One guy pulled over to find out more and said hes' heading to NH too!

well at least you (and they) understand the concept of a "right of way" which is an individual equal access right held in common...same as free speech...and collectively (state) owned property.

the state is suppose to protect your individual rights to use the right of ways and speech without being infringed upon by any other individual.

[Lloyd Danforth]

the state is suppose to protect your individual rights to use the right of ways and speech without being infringed upon by any other individual.

They did a great job of protecting Fort Trumbull peoples property

[FrankChodorov]

the state is suppose to protect your individual rights to use the right of ways and speech without being infringed upon by any other individual.

They did a great job of protecting Fort Trumbull peoples property

the Kelo issue is all about economic rent (increased property tax revenue)...and I think you know how I feel about that.