[RP TownTalk] TownTalk Digest, Vol 5, Issue 2

[Jack R. Jones]

Jack here:

For those wondering why the Chapter 3 is there, this is the item that 
precipitated the Code addition. I am a member of the Board of 
Trustees for the Henry George Foundation of America, one of my duties 
is to inform the public of the tax reforms that the organization 
lobbies for around the world at National, State, County, Municipal 
levels of government and to the General Public. HGFA had offered to 
pay the additional cost for printing, inserting, and delivering the 
document with the Town Crier. The mayor prohibited its publication. 
Two councilmembers worked to get a code for submittals that curtailed 
her imperious abuse of the executive power. The code did end up 
prohibiting the publishing of the document, as the two councilmen 
could not get a majority to permit informing the public of interest 
and concern to them.


                      The Riverdale Observer

                                   Why Good Buildings Go Bad


	The residents of Riverdale Park have watched the buildings in 
the Town Center, the Route 1, and the Kenilworth Avenue areas 
deteriorate over the past twenty years. They have been disheartened 
in the past and despaired of improving the area. Take note there is 
something that can be done to make these buildings turn good again.

	The reason these buildings have gone bad is because building 
owners are PUNISHED FOR DOING THE RIGHT THING, improving their 
building.The building owner is also REWARDED FOR DOING THE WRONG 
THING, letting their building go to ruin. How is this punishment and 
reward done? It is done with the property tax that is actually two 
taxes, a tax on buildings and a tax on land. The tax on buildings is 
an economically harmful tax, because it discourages building 
improvements, the higher this tax is the faster buildings go bad. On 
the other hand the tax on land is economically beneficial as it 
encourages highest and best use of land. The higher it is up to near 
the annual rental value of the land the more it encourages highest 
and best use.

	The combination of a high building tax and a low land tax 
would make the buildings go bad even faster than they do now with an 
equal tax rate. The only way to get the correct incentives are to 
lower the building tax and to raise the land tax. To get the full 
benefit the building tax rate should be lowered to zero per cent 
while raising the land value tax to near one hundred per cent of the 
annual rental value of the land.

	In Maryland, Incorporated Municipalities can split the rates 
with buildings and other improvement having one rate, while land has 
a different rate. This split rate can be done with revenue 
neutrality, with a transition period to allow people to get used to 
change to good economic rules from bad economic rules.

	In Maryland the land value tax could also provide the needed 
government, big enough to protect our rights and small enough that it 
cannot take our rights away. The present state government could 
replace all its sale taxes, which punish the poor, and half of the 
present income tax that punishes productivity with a land value tax 
and remains revenue neutral in its operation. The improved economy 
from such an action and the increased revenues could be used as a 
citizen's land tax refund that could be added to the refund that also 
could be offered locally.


	The possibilities are here for citizens to change the economy 
so the unfair tax laws do not take from them the rightful products of 
their own labor. The citizen needs to let their local and state 
officials know that they want this fair tax system and they want it 
now, public officials will do what they need to do to stay in office. 
Enough citizens asking for tax reform will give the officials the 
courage to make the reform. If you the citizens will affect this 
change, these are the benefits to be expected.

                                       Benefits To Be Expected:

*	The land value tax is the most economically neutral form of 
revenue collection.  It is most neutral when all levels of government 
(local, state, federal) services are limited to those in which all 
citizens benefit about equally, and the balance of the land value tax 
is returned to the citizens in equal shares as a land tax refund.

*	The best economic use of land is encouraged because unused 
and underused land adjacent to best use land would pay the same land 
value tax.  More efficient transportation networks, and utility 
infrastructure is also encouraged.  However, for full effect, repeal 
of suburban subsidies is required.  This is needed because land value 
reflects efficient economics in that it is less expensive to build 
within and up than it is to build outwards.

*	It can improve economic productiveness by replacing the 
income tax, which punishes labor for production; the property tax, 
which punishes capital for production; and the sales tax, which 
punishes those who engage in economic exchange.

*	It is an easy to administer tax, since it is easier to assess 
land than improvements.  Also, it only involves the land title 
holders, which are less in number than workers or consumers.  The tax 
can be collected as property tax is presently collected, as these 
systems are more effective and efficient than income or sales tax 
collection systems.

*	The land tax refund will serve as an irreducible income that 
can be used to defray the inequity of the income tax between 
individuals and corporations, to defray the regressiveness of the 
sales tax, and/or as a social catastrophe insurance for those who are 
landless and perhaps jobless.

*	The Land Value Tax/Land Tax Refund system will curb boom and 
bust cycles in the economy, driven by real estate speculation.



Respectfully Submitted, April 1999			for more 
information, contact

Jack R. Jones						Joshua Vincent
4715 Rittenhouse Street					HGFA/CSE
Riverdale Park, MD 20737				1422 Chesnut 
Street, Suite 413
301-277-2242						Philadelphia, PA 19102




>
>Message: 2
>Date: Thu, 01 Dec 2005 19:05:10 -0500
>From: Gerard Kiernan <gerardkiernan at earthlink.net>
>
>
>Clearly, I would not be seeking the repeal of this law had it worked out
>well in practice.  The very reason for the existence of the Crier is to
>allow the town government to effectively communicate with residents. You
>elect a mayor and council to work on your behalf and part of doing that
>effectively is communicating town policies and actions to the community. Can
>you depend on that occurring if the mayor and council CANNOT exercise
>authority over the Crier?  Chapter 3 forbids any elected official to
>"direct" the editor or publisher (the town administrator functions as the
>publisher) about ANYTHING regarding the Crier.
>

Jack again:

The Code misses the right of the populace to be heard by requiring a 
majority to approve a publication...a better approach would be to 
follow the concept of the Maryland Declaration of Rights, Article 23 
"In the trial of all criminal cases, the Jury shall be the Judges of 
Law, as well as of fact, except that the Court may pass upon the 
sufficiency of the evidence to sustain a conviction."

The Common Law Jury is composed of 12 jurors, which have to be in 
unanimous decision to convict.
One person can stop a prosecution if they feel the law is unjust or 
that the facts are not convincing.

We could use a similar idea in that, when the Mayor or Council wants 
to restrict a document from publication their decision must be 
unanimous...if one of them is in favor of publication then the 
document shall be published. That is 1 in 7 not as good as 1 in 12 
but moving to ward the freedom of the people as put forth in the 
Declaration of Independence.

"...Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established 
should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly 
all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, 
while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing 
the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of 
abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a 
design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it 
is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new 
Guards for their future security...."

For those who were wondering what was missing in the ellipsis in the 
Declaration of Independence at the Jefferson Memorial it is the bit 
above governments seem to have a hang up about admitting that the 
right to govern live solely in the people. Even on a Document so 
basic as the Declaration of Independence, some one responsible for 
the memorial was attempting to grab the power from the people. The 
price of Liberty IS eternal vigilance.

And regarding the comments on the previous editor Tracy Toscano won 
the election by 80% and Jack Jones got 20% running against both side. 
Both of them support Rob Oppenheim for Ward 1 that sounds like 100% 
in my books. As for the infractions, as I tell the students in my 
Homeschool Soccer Class..."Don't let perfection get in the way of 
your achieving excellence"

Or as David advises me, be brief. In a few words "David right, Gerry wrong"
>
>Message: 3
>Date: Thu, 1 Dec 2005 23:17:07 -0500
>From: David Hiles <hilesd at mindspring.com>
>
>"We do not fund anything that we don't control."
>Frank Erwin 1971
>
>It is great to live in a town with a lively political culture.  Let's 
>not muzzle it.
>
>The issue of who controls the printing press comes up when people have 
>divergent views from the ruling group and worry about being edited out 
>of existence.  People want the chance to hear both sides.  Others know 
>that they may not always be part of the "in" group.  I don't like being 
>told to trust those in power. That doesn't always work out too good.
>
>Chapter 3 tries to establish the Town Crier as a impartial carrier of 
>local news, albeit one that devotes lots of space to current office
>holders, without a mechanism for systematically including the opinions 
>of the outs.  I liked the return of the letters section, which had some 
>potential in that area.  When I thought about weakening the 
>independence of the editor, I considered whether or not I would like 
>the results if various sainted/devilish past mayors had a controlled 
>Crier or an independent Crier.  We were starting to see an independent 
>Crier over the last six months and we were getting some great stuff.  
>An independent Crier with a strong editor is in the best interests of
>our community.
>


-- 
"We have met the enemy, and he is us!" Pogo Possum
http://theriverdaleobserver.blogspot.com
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