(10-14-2022, 08:08 AM)Sneakers Wrote:

(10-13-2022, 02:50 PM)mikesez Wrote: I'm not asking you to accept Georgism as a whole philosophy.  A land value tax couldn't have been implemented then and can't be implemented now.  Very difficult to assess land value apart from the structures and utilities adjacent to the land.
But we do have property tax, which can more easily be assessed based on real market activity.  And these property taxes became more prominent during George's time largely due to his influence.  So his ideas are part of our government's fabric similar to ideas of men like Madison and Jefferson.  Ideas like this are never conclusively "proven" but they are implemented and shown to be beneficial, at least for us.
The essential lesson of Georgism is, up to a certain point, taxing land value is actually positive.  It does more than fund the government, it promotes development and growth.  Beyond that point, a land value tax becomes bad for the economy, just like any other tax.  In NY and CA, property tax rates are lower than those in FL.  In Chicago, they are higher.  I happen to believe that FL is close to the optimum rate, and I think there's plenty of support for that idea if you look at our dynamic growth and relative equality and harmony compared to these other places.  But that's just my opinion.

You're wrong on multiple points.  
Land value is not "very difficult to assess".  It's called a real estate appraisal and it happens every day.
Property tax does not fluctuate on market activity the way you think it does.  Municipal reassessments typically only occur every 5-7 years.
If you're equating the economic theory that a tax on real estate helps the economy, with the fundamental belief that all men are inherently entitled to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, you're hopelessly lost in this discussion. 
Real estate tax, high or low, is not a insignificant factor in promoting growth and development. 
The influx of people relocating here from Chicago, NYC and California has nothing to do with property taxes.

I dated a girl like you.  No matter what I said, she interpreted it the worst possible way, and threw the strawman back at me.

The value of developed land is not assessed as such.  It's always the value of the land plus the value of the structures on the land.  And yes, the tax man and the home developer sometimes put the land value as a line item, but it's usually a round number that doesn't mean anything. It's like the shop fees at the oil change place.  The tax rate is based off of the sum.  Now if there was a different tax rate for the land, you can bet there would suddenly be lots of controversy about what the right value was, and few people would feel sure about it.

I didn't say property tax fluctuates instantly based on market activity.  I didn't say anything about how quickly it reacts.  Obviously you wouldn't want it to be too slow or too fast, but that's also obviously besides the point.

If you think the totality of Madison and Jefferson's contributions to our form of government begin and end with the second sentence of the declaration of independence, you're hopelessly lost in this discussion. First of all, that idea actually comes from Locke during the conclusion of the English Revolution in the 1600s, secondly, they obviously made many more lasting contributions to the United States than that.

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