Events

May
17
Sat
Cycle tour of of South Loop and Lakeshore @ Meet at the Henry George School
May 17 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Guided by HGS instructor Bob Jene, this tour starts with a look at the City of Chicago amenities on the lakefront in Grant Park, and their effect on land values in neighboring private properties especially along Prairie and Indiana Avenues south of Roosevelt.  This is the museum campus area with a mixed style of housing.  We continue down to the Central Station Area where there are some vintage mansions on Prairie Avenue. We will stop to look at assessor’s data on the value of units, properties and parking spaces and how they relate to location.

Nov
29
Tue
America’s #1 Problem: LOW WAGES @ Overflow Coffee Bar
Nov 29 @ 6:15 pm – 8:15 pm

Between 1948 and 1973, Americans’ real wages rose almost as fast as their productivity. After 1973, productivity grew 147% but wages rose only 19%. This raises two questions:

(1) If workers getting less, who is getting more?

(2) Is there a way to restore the balance?

To solve the problem of poverty, and the many other problems that follow from it, ordinary workers need higher wages. George Menninger describes how to raise wages without interfering in the free market and without taking anyone’s earnings.

George Menninger is an instructor at the Henry George School of Chicago, and attendees at this free program will have the opportunity to sign up for his Progress & Poverty course.

You can sign up for this free event thru Eventbrite, or RSVP directly by email.

 

Mar
1
Wed
America’s #1 Problem: LOW WAGES @ Green Briar Park
Mar 1 @ 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm

Between 1948 and 1973, Americans’ real wages rose almost as fast as their productivity. After 1973, productivity grew 147% but wages rose only 19%. This raises two questions:

(1) If workers getting less, who is getting more?

(2) Is there a way to restore the balance?

To solve the problem of poverty, and the many other problems that follow from it, ordinary workers need higher wages. George Menninger describes how to raise wages without interfering in the free market and without taking anyone’s earnings.

George Menninger is an instructor at the Henry George School of Chicago, and attendees at this free program will have the opportunity to sign up for his Progress & Poverty course.

No  reservation is required, but you can let us know  by email that you’re coming.

Mar
14
Tue
America’s #1 Problem: LOW WAGES @ Overflow Coffee Bar
Mar 14 @ 6:15 pm – 8:15 pm

Between 1948 and 1973, Americans’ real wages rose almost as fast as their productivity. After 1973, productivity grew 147% but wages rose only 19%. This raises two questions:

(1) If workers getting less, who is getting more?

(2) Is there a way to restore the balance?

To solve the problem of poverty, and the many other problems that follow from it, ordinary workers need higher wages. George Menninger describes how to raise wages without interfering in the free market and without taking anyone’s earnings.

George Menninger is an instructor at the Henry George School of Chicago, and attendees at this free program will have the opportunity to sign up for his Progress & Poverty course.

No  reservation is required, but you can let us know  by email that you’re coming.

Sep
13
Wed
Orwellian Economics @ Overflow Coffee Bar
Sep 13 @ 6:15 pm – 8:15 pm

The purpose of Newspeak was not only to provide a medium of expression for the world-view and mental habits proper to the devotees of IngSoc, but to make all other modes of thought impossible. It was intended that when Newspeak had been adopted once and for all and Oldspeak forgotten, a heretical thought – that is, a thought diverging from the principles of IngSoc – should be literally unthinkable, at least so far as thought is dependent on words.

— George Orwell

Dan Sullivan

Something like this has happened to the field of economics, says Dan Sullivan.  Terms which had clear meanings to Adam Smith, J S Mill, and other classical economists have got distorted and redefined– or obliterated–  to prevent serious discussion of economic issues. Going back to the roots of political economy, Dan suggests the real point of a proper science of economics would be to efficiently satisfy the desires of the people, both individually and collectively.

Dan will help us distinguish between “rights” and “privileges,” “investments” and “acquisitions”,  and several distinct concepts that all get called “wealth.” He’ll address the difference between “means of production” and “capital,” and differentiate “human capital” from modern slavery.

You can understand today’s economic issues such as minimum wages, tax policy, international trade, housing costs, and unemployment, but only if you have a clear idea of the fundamental terms.  These terms can be readily comprehended by ordinary people and do not lead to any particular “left” or “right” public policy, but they facilitate informed communication.

There will of course be time for questions and discussion.

Based in Pittsburgh, Dan Sullivan is a popular speaker on economic issues, and Director of Saving Communities

Jan
9
Tue
Jason Grotto on How the Cook County Assessor Fails Taxpayers @ Signature Office (Buckingham Room)
Jan 9 @ 6:15 pm – 8:15 pm
Jason Grotto (image credit: Pro Publica)

ProPublica Illinois investigative reporter Jason Grotto (formerly with the Chicago Tribune) has produced several major research stories about problems with real estate assessments in Cook County, as well as with the Assessor’s office itself. He’ll join us to talk about how and why he undertook this work, what’s wrong with the Assessor’s office and how it could be repaired, how the property tax would function if it were competently administered,  and, if we’re lucky, how the tax could be restructured to improve fairness and better fund public services while promoting economic opportunity.

Join us to learn about some of the practical difficulties in bringing competence and efficiency to the administration of what could be a very fair tax.

PREREGISTRATION MANDATORY: Due to building policies you must pre-register by email or or by phoning us at 312 450-2906

Mar
13
Wed
Creating Dollars to Fund the Green New Deal: Taxing Rentiers to Prevent Inflation @ Signature Office
Mar 13 @ 6:15 pm – 8:15 pm
Creating Dollars to Fund the Green New Deal: Taxing Rentiers to Prevent Inflation @ Signature Office

Ron Baiman will speak on taxing the rentier sectors to achieve the necessary reallocation of economic resources and investment. Mr. Baiman is an economics professor at Benedictine University,

Registration is required for this free event.