An evening with Bob Jene to compare the Georgist fiscal reform to the TARP bailout, “Fair Tax,” Flat Tax, Bush tax cuts and government money creation. A gist of each proposed or attempted solution to the “great recession” will be given including QE I, QE II and QE III. Attendees will rank the proposed remedies on a scale of 1 to 10 based on 8 criteria.
This is a special presentation for students at DePaul, Loyola, and Dominican Universities. If you meet this requirement and you’re interested in solving the problem of poverty, you’ll get $20 (or a free course voucher if you prefer) by attending this program. RSVP is essential. Others may attend on space-available basis.
We sometimes describe Henry George’s fiscal proposal as a “smart tax,” unlike the inefficient anti-prosperity taxes that fund most government programs today. Similarly, there can be “smart” transit facilities, which are distinguished from dumb ones because they are cost less and provide more service. Perhaps the most prominent recent smart transit proposal is the CTA Gray Line, whose creator, Mike Payne, will be our speaker tonight.
From the CTA Gray Line web page:
Launching the Gray Line would provide a brand new CTA Rapid Transit (‘L’) service (on EXISTING facilities) to Grant Park, the Museum Campus, the newly renovated Soldier Field, and McCormick Place (with a connected station under the McCormick Place South Bldg.)
Also service to Bronzeville, Hyde Park, the Museum of Science & Industry (with an ADA compliant station 1 1/2 blocks away), the University of Chicago, Woodlawn, South Shore, South Chicago, Chatham, Chicago State University, Pullman, Roseland, Blue Island, and Hegewisch; again almost all Gray Line facilities are in place, and operating RIGHT NOW TODAY.
. . .
There is N O need for costly and time consuming design and engineering, right-of-way acquistion, condemnation, demolition, clearing, materials acquisition, delivery, and major construction; the CTA Gray Line ‘L’ System could be up and providing CTA ‘L’ service to the Far South Side WITHIN O N E YEAR, rather than waiting until 2016 for completion of the Red Line Extension.
Come to this free presentation to meet and question a prominent transit activist, and think about what could be done with all the public money saved by smart projects like the CTA Gray Line.
An evening with Bob Jene to compare the Georgist fiscal reform to the TARP bailout, “Fair Tax,” Flat Tax, Bush tax cuts and government money creation. A gist of each proposed or attempted solution to the “great recession” will be given including QE I, QE II and QE III. Attendees will rank the proposed remedies on a scale of 1 to 10 based on 8 criteria.
America’s only Political Economy Book Club discusses Candide, Voltaire’s 1759 masterpiece that ridicules religion, theologians, governments, armies, philosophies and philosophers through allegory. As Jean Starobinski notes,”The fast-paced and improbable plot—in which characters narrowly escape death repeatedly, for instance—allows for compounding tragedies to befall the same characters over and over again.”
It’s only a hundred pages or so depending on the translation and format, and is available in English translation free from Project Gutenberg (in several formats) as well as from the Internet Archive, where there is also an audiobook.
PEBC coordinator Bob Matter would appreciate an RSVP, if possible, from those planning to attend.
An evening with Bob Jene to compare the Georgist fiscal reform to the TARP bailout, “Fair Tax,” Flat Tax, Bush tax cuts and government money creation. A gist of each proposed or attempted solution to the “great recession” will be given including QE I, QE II and QE III. Attendees will rank the proposed remedies on a scale of 1 to 10 based on 8 criteria.
Based on Henry George’s Social Problems and additional resources, this course is open to all interested adults. You’re welcome to sit in on the first session free, after which a $25 registration fee applies. Course meets Tuesdays, April 5 thru June 7. Course description is here. It is helpful if you pre-register.
If you want to understand the underlying causes of persistent poverty in America, you’ll benefit from this course. This is the “modern” version, based on Bob Drake’s “Abridged for Modern Readers” edit of Henry George’s original book. As always, the first class session is entirely free, but if you decide to enroll in the course we request a $25 fee to help cover costs. Veteran HGS instructor Bob Jene will help you understand not only the causes of economic stagnation, but a workable remedy.
This course will meet for six consecutive Friday’s beginning January 6. Our space at Overflow Coffee Bar is directly served by CTA routes 62 and 29, and a reasonable walk from Red, Green, and Orange Line Roosevelt station, as well as Metra Electric’s Museum Campus and 18th Street stops.
Urban sprawl is threatening to destroy much valuable farmland. We will look at data from one of the leading national organizations trying to mitigate this damage, The American Farmland Trust (AFT). Among other things they buy development rights from farmers to insure the land’s continued use in agriculture and attempt to facilitate community supported agriculture which makes family farms more viable. The Georgist fiscal reform reduces sprawl alleviating pressure on farmland.
(image credit: Kristian Bjornard ; Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0); https://flic.kr/p/8RYWFy)