Why rent is too high, wages too low, and what we can do about it
We are confronted with the stark reality of rising economic inequality in today’s society. The gap between the rich and poor continues to widen, as income and wages stagnate for many while the cost of living continues to rise. This disparity has far-reaching consequences, impacting millions of people’s access to healthcare, education, and overall quality of life. It raises the critical question: is there a way to address this economic imbalance and create a fairer, more equitable society?
This is the premise of Land is a Big Deal: Why Rent is Too High, Wages Too Low, and What We Can Do About It by Lars A. Doucet. This book, which began as a series of blog posts, revisits the ideas of the 19th-century economist Henry George for a modern audience. In his 1879 book Progress and Poverty, George argued that land ownership is the key driver of poverty and wealth disparity.
The main tenet of George’s philosophy, known as Georgism, is a Land Value Tax (LVT), a tax on the value of land itself, which, unlike a property tax, taxes both the land and the buildings on it. Once considered a fringe economic theory, Georgism is experiencing a resurgence in popularity, a movement Doucet’s book has contributed to. Proponents of Georgism argue that LVT is both a more efficient form of taxation because it doesn’t tax production and that it is a more equitable and moral form of taxation because land is something nature provides for free and no one should be able to lay claim to.
Ed. – Read the rest of the review here: https://jeremyneiman.substack.com/p/land-is-a-big-deal-by-lars-doucet.