from Wikimedia

Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations is a landmark work that marks the start of economics as a science. Smith was arguing against the mercantilism of his day pointing out that laborers and the products of their labor were the real wealth of the nation. We are returning to this great work to consider  Book II, Of the Nature, Accumulation, and Employment of Stock. On May 22 we will discuss the introduction through  chapter 3 and on June 19 we will finish with chapters 4 & 5.

The Wealth of Nations is available for free downloading at archive.org.
Free audio recordings are available at librivox.

The Political Economy Book Club meets at 6 PM, at 30 E Jackson #1207.  Everyone is welcome and there is no cost, altho donations to help pay the rent are welcomed. RSVP to Bob Matter or call 312-450-2906.

image credit: em_____ via flickr (cc)

This tour looks at the lakefront areas just south of the Chicago loop, including the Central Station, Museum Campus, and Prairie Avenue districts.  We’ll see how the natural and manmade amenities affect what  sites are worth, and how this is (or is not) reflected in assessments.

This area has undergone numerous changes over the decades, from residential to commercial, railroad, industrial, institutional, and back to residential, but always the lakefront and close access to downtown have been important.  The land has long been valuable, and we’ll talk about the factors which produce value and who benefits from it.

There is no charge for the tour (altho donations will be gratefully accepted). We leave from 30 E Adams at 2 PM.  Bring your own bike.  Optional RSVP to 312 450 2906, or email tour leader Bob Jene

from Wikimedia

Salt of the Earth (1954) is an American drama film written by Michael Wilson, directed by Herbert J. Biberman, and produced by Paul Jarrico. All had been blacklisted by the Hollywood establishment due to their alleged involvement in communist politics.

The film is one of the first pictures to advance the feminist social and political point of view. Its plot centers on a long and difficult strike, based on the 1951 strike against the Empire Zinc Company in Grant County, New Mexico. In the film, the company is identified as “Delaware Zinc,” and the setting is “Zinctown, New Mexico.” The film shows how the miners, the company, and the police react during the strike. In neorealist style, the producers and director used actual miners and their families as actors in the film. [Wikipedia]

Reportedly this “clear piece of communist propaganda (Pauline Kael)”  was effectively banned in Chicago and elsewhere, shown only in New York and San Francisco. Bob Wake’s review tells us that director Biberman wrote a book about the experience, as much later did James J. Lorence.

Herbert Biberman — USA — 1954 — 94 min.  At 30 E Adams #1207. Free, donations welcome.

If you have questions or would like to let us know you’ll be coming, call Bob Jene at 312 450 2906 or email Bob Matter

image credit: elycefeliz via flickr (cc)

What George Menninger did was completely legal. He stole over a million dollars.  Many people do it, perhaps including some of your neighbors; if George hadn’t then someone else would have.

You and fellow Chicagoans have already paid George so he is far beyond the need to earn a living. Now he volunteers some of his time as an instructor at the Henry George School.  At this presentation you’ll learn exactly what he stole, how he did it, and how the community could have prevented it.  You’ll also learn the costs of continuing larceny, in terms of poverty, unemployment, violence, and high cost of living.

Tonight’s presentation is entirely free and without obligation. At the conclusion, if you choose, you may enroll in the Progress & Poverty course George teaches over the following four Wednesday evenings.

Four years later, embracing the message of the dream, Jim and a group of riders retrace the 330-mile route of his dream on horseback from Lower Brule, South Dakota to Mankato, Minnesota to arrive at the hanging site on the anniversary of the execution. “We can’t blame the wasichus anymore. We’re doing it to ourselves. We’re selling drugs. We’re killing our own people. That’s what this ride is about, is healing.” This is the story of their journey- the blizzards they endure, the Native and Non-Native communities that house and feed them along the way, and the dark history they are beginning to wipe away.

[The above is from the film's web site, where you can also watch a trailer.]  This film was crowd-funded.

Silas Haggerty — USA — 2012– 78 minutes

2pm Saturday April 13, at 30 E Adams #1207. After the film, refreshments and discussion.  Free, altho donations are welcome. Hosted by Bob Matter and Bob Jene. Questions or to let us know you’re coming: 312 450 2906 or email Bob Matter

Image Credit: kenteegardin/senior living via flickr (cc)

Bob Jene compares the geoist fiscal reform to the TARP bailout, “Fair” Tax, Flat Tax, Bush tax cuts, and government money creation. Each proposed or attempted solution to the great recession will be given.  Attendees will rank the proposed measures to get out of the recession on a scale of 1 to 10 based on eight criteria.

At the Henry George School, 30 E Adams #1207, 6PM on Monday April 15.  Free and open to everybody, donations welcome.

image credit: Jael Herrera via flickr(cc)

Our spring term schedule, posted here, features two sections of Progress & Poverty, plus advanced courses.  As previously posted, it’s now possible to get college credit for Henry George School classes.

We’ll also have films, discussions, talks and tours– the whole schedule will be posted over the coming days, or you can phone 312 450 2906 to have a paper copy mailed.

• See how the community and its infrastructure produce value.
• See who collects this value, and how it affects us all.

Credit: Viewminder via flickr (cc)

We’ll stroll about two kilometers, in about an hour and a half.  You’ll get detailed, sourced, hardcopy notes, and answers to your questions about how downtown development really works.

A $10 donation is requested. You can pre-pay by credit card here. But don’t use that link if you prefer to donate by cash or check, or if you qualify for a free tour by being a recent graduate or donor.

(Of course you can always donate to the Henry George School; donations of any amount can be done here.)

We’ll leave from the new Henry George School location, 30 East Adams #1207. Call 312/450-2906 or email if you want any more information.

image source: photo by Gary Brown, via Flickr (cc)

Due to a schedule conflict, Bob Jene is unable to present “High Cost of Government Revenue” on Monday, March 25.  A new date will be announced.

You probably already know that America’s tax system, and especially the personal income tax, is a cause of frustration and wasted effort (beyond the poverty which would be caused even by a simple tax on earned income.)

This power point presentation by HGS instructor and Administrative Director Bob Jene looks at the actual cost of collecting that tax. The IRS overhead itself represents the direct cost to the government in generating this revenue. Beside that there is the burden put on the tax payer in preparing his return, and the distortion of decisions due to

In the case of an audit there may be cost of representation before a tax court. There is a vast amount of human resources wasted on this activity for the revenue generated.

Bob will also mention types of taxation that are more efficient, fair and beneficial than the personal or corporate income tax, sales tax, service tax, payroll tax, utility tax, excise tax, and most of today’s other taxes. You can learn more about these in Henry George School courses.

Monday March 25, 6 p.m. at the Henry George School, 30 E Adams #1207.  Free, donations welcome.

Photo credit: Tom Stamp via flickr (cc)

At this session PEBC concludes its discussion of Henry George, Jr.’s The Menace of Privilege. We’ll focus on Books VI thru IX, including discussion of how Privilege controls not just land, but the press, the university, the churches, and of course the government itself, making poverty and war unavoidable.

The reading is less than 200 pages of smooth-flowing text produced by a skilled journalist.  The book is 108 years old, but the issues resonate today and tomorrow.

Wednesday, March 20, 6 PM at 30 E Adams #1207.  If you have questions, or would like to let us know you’re coming, call 312/450-2906, or email Bob Matter.