Hacker News Reader

Comment by slopinthebag | Hacker News Reader

its unclear to me how you could pay for the massive tax burden of a modern state with a single tax. while i agree in theory that taxation of land is the most "fair" type of tax, it does not seem possible that eg. the federal US government could obtain $7,000,000,000,000 from a %5 tax rate on land, without making it completely unaffordable for the average citizen to own a modest home.

if you were to couple Georgism with a massive reduction in state spending i would be more on board i think.

View on HN

It's already unaffordable for the average citizen to own a modest home in much of the country. Only if you worked and then moved to a cheaper place.

Also, I don't think it precludes a sales tax or tariffs, etc.

The US ideological push for homeownership is what eventually led to the housing shortage that we’re in now. If we tie up a big chunk of the majority’s net worth in their house, of course they’re going to vote for their own net worth going up. Of course they’re going to vote for renters to become their serfs. Of course they’re going to vote for subsidizing housing demand instead of subsidizing housing supply.

We needed a government to crush the majority’s house values yesterday. As a consolation prize, we got ‘08. It sucked investment out of housing, and we got a booming economy.

The average citizen should not own a home and be allowed to vote at the same time. Canada experienced the consequences of a psychotic ideological homeownership push, China dodged it by intentionally deflating property values, the US will pay the price if people keep voting for property values to go up.

Having most people rent their home would bring what advantage? Can still have high property prices and (local) lack of supply.

i think it generally does preclude other taxes, although i'm sure there are people who consider themselves georgists who would also want to see other forms of taxation.

but yes, home ownership is becoming increasingly unaffordable for a number of reasons, including increasing government spending...

Those taxes have different uses, jurisdictions, and payers, as does a property tax. So it may not be a good idea to have one exclusive type.

> he’s also opposed to taxes on both labor and capital.

I see. Well, this doesn't include the two I mentioned above so perhaps.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com