Would Rube Goldberg have been able to design a less straightforward system of funding government than the U S Federal income tax? In this presentation, HGS instructor Bob Jene looks at what it costs to collect this revenue. The direct cost to the government of operating the Internal Revenue Service is only a small part, as the burden put on the taxpayer, and the diversion of effort from productive uses, should also be considered.
In commemoration of “tax day,” the hypothetical due date for Federal and State personal income tax returns, we’ll discuss a sensible proposal by a man who understood the danger of an income tax: Henry George. In this free introductory session, we’ll review the problems George saw in his time, and discuss how they persist today. We’ll outline what he proposed to do about them, how his recommendations apply today, and provide an overview of the Progress & Poverty course.
The course continues on Friday afternoons thru May 20. Should you choose to enroll, there will be a $25 registration fee.
Do we need to suffer like this (and/or pay someone else) in order to fund government? In this presentation, HGS instructor Bob Jene looks at what it costs to collect income taxes. The direct cost to the government of operating the Internal Revenue Service is only a small part, as the burden put on the taxpayer, and the diversion of effort from productive uses, should also be considered.
In the 19th Century, Henry George proposed to end poverty by recognizing a clear and logical distinction between private property and community property. America took a different path, but George’s proposal remains valid and would still provide widespread prosperity. Chuck Metalitz explains.
Attendees at this free event will have the opportunity to sign up for the Progress & Poverty course which examines these ideas in much greater detail.
In the 19th Century, Henry George proposed to end poverty by recognizing a clear and logical distinction between private property and community property. America took a different path, but George’s proposal remains valid and would still provide widespread prosperity. Chuck Metalitz explains.
Attendees at this free event will have the opportunity to sign up for the Progress & Poverty course which examines these ideas in much greater detail.
Decades before Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith wrote what he seems to have considered a superior work, Theory of Moral Sentiments. He wrote:
How selfish soever man may be supposed, there are evidently some principles in his nature, which interest him in the fortune of others, and render their happiness necessary to him, though he derives nothing from it except the pleasure of seeing it.
Wikipedia asserts:
Smith critically examines the moral thinking of his time, and suggests that conscience arises from dynamic and interactive social relationships through which people seek “mutual sympathy of sentiments.”[74] His goal in writing the work was to explain the source of mankind’s ability to form moral judgement, given that people begin life with no moral sentiments at all. Smith proposes a theory of sympathy, in which the act of observing others and seeing the judgements they form of both others and oneself makes people aware of themselves and how others perceive their behaviour.
The Theory of Moral Sentiments has been printed in numerous editions, and is also available free on line. Smith revised the book throughout his lifetime; it’s best to avoid the first edition, and choose one published after his death in 1790.
In this session we’ll discuss parts 1-3 of the book, taking up parts 4-7 on November 20,
This is the second and concluding session for this book, covering parts 4-7.