Feb 11 Mon 6PM: No Farms, No Food

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Image credit: Todd Ehlers via flickr (cc)

Since earliest civilizations, humans have recognized that food is a product of farmland (and, yes, pastureland, fisheries, etc) and have managed to cultivate enough land to feed themselves.  Yet today we routinely convert farmland to urban use. American Farmland Trust (AFT) seek to ensure continued agricultural use of some land by buying development rights from farmers, and try to make farms more viable by facilitating community supported agriculture. The geoist fiscal reform provides an alternative way to encourage more conservative and productive use of all land.  This presentation by HGS instructor Bob Jene suggests that an alliance between AFT and geoists might benefit both.

Monday February 11, 6 PM, at 30 E Adams #1207.  Free and open to all.

Jan 30 Wed. 6 PM: How I made $1,000,000 in Chicago Real Estate: I $tole it from You!

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image credit: (Lolita) • 8 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, so 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, so 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.

Jan 23 Wed 6 PM: Political Economy Book Club discusses the Menace of Privilege

mop_adWe gather to talk about one of Henry George, Jr.’s important works,    The Menace of Privilege.  From the Preface:

What is the cause of the grave changes that are coming over the American Republic — the extraordinary inequality in the distribution of wealth manifested on every hand; the rise of class feeling; the growth of the aristocratic idea; the lapse from morals in business and private relations among the very rich; the growth of elements of physical, mental and moral deterioration among the working masses… the corruption of Federal, State, and municipal politics; the deterring of press, university and pulpit from open expression; the centralization of government; the advances in foreign aggression?

Update the style a little, and we are talking about 21st-century issues, including privileges of corporations (including labor unions) and misuse of the courts.

Our January 23 gathering will look at the first half (Books 1-5), treating the remainder on March 20. Political Economy Book Club meetings are open to the public without charge. RSVP appreciated to convenor Bob Matter or 312-450-2906. Bob is also the contact if you have questions.

Welcome to 2013: Winter course schedule includes a morning class

image credit: stockmonkeys.com via flickr (cc)
image credit: stockmonkeys.com via flickr (cc)

This winter we offer five classes, including three sections of Progress & Poverty, and two advanced courses: Human Rights and After the Crash.  The full schedule with link to preregistration is here.

If this is your first time at the Henry George School, you should begin with Progress & Poverty. You’ll gain a new perspective on how the economy works, learn the root cause of today’s economic difficulties, and develop an understanding of key concepts.   Progress & Poverty comes in two versions, Classic and Modern, covering essentially the same material but with differences in depth and pace. This term, the classic version meets Friday mornings and the modern version Tuesday afternoons or Wednesday evenings.

If you don’t care to enroll in Progress & Poverty at this time, you’ll still be welcome to attend our lectures, movies, tours and discussions, all of which will be shown on the Events page. We do also have other prerequisite-free courses which will be offered later in 2013.

Jan 16 Wed 6 PM: Stephen Zarlenga on Henry George’s Concept of Money

Living in the 19th century, Henry George had a first-hand view of “hard money” throwing the economy into disarray.  While George always asserted that the fundamental reform needed was public collection of land rent, tonight’s speaker will show that he also held “quite advanced” views of money, seeing its control as a legitimate function of government.

Not all geoists agree with this position, and we look forward to a lively discussion among greenbackers, gold-bugs, local currency advocates,  supporters of brick-backed money, and anyone else who shows up with constructive ideas.

Stephen Zarlenga, chief of the American Monetary Institute, is among the BOOKCOVERPHOTOmany 21st-century economic reformers who focus more on money and banking than on land tenure and land rent.  Zarlenga is author of The Lost Science of Money, as well as numerous essays and research papers.  Some of the research for this talk was sponsored by the Robert Schalkenbach Foundation.

This free presentation, open to the public, will be held at 30 E Adams #1207, beginning 6 PM on Wednesday January 16.

Finally! College credit for Henry George School courses!

image credit: Kevin Miller (KM Photography) via flickr (cc)

Many of our students remark that, even though they may have college degrees in economics or other social sciences, they learned important things with us that should have been, but never were discussed in their regular college classes.  Occasionally we’ve even had a student manage, with the help of a thoughtful college instructor, to get college credit for a Henry George School class.

Now, through the Herculean efforts of the Henry George Institute, our courses can be “recommended for credit” by the National College Credit Recommendation Service. There are, of course, some special restrictions and difficulties.  First, you need to take all three courses in our “principles of political economy” sequence (Progress & Poverty, Applied Economics/International Trade, Economic Science).

Second, you must study with an accredited HGS instructor (not all are yet), but this can generally be arranged regardless of who the scheduled instructor may be. Third, you must pass an examination.  Fourth, there is a cost, $250 beyond the regular $25/course HGS registration fee.   This money goes to the Henry George Institute (who expended cash as well as much effort to make it possible), and is less than just about any public or private college would charge for equivalent credits.

What you get, upon completing the above, is a recommendation for awarding of 3 credit hours.  We think all colleges will accept this, but because it is a new program we cannot be certain and we encourage you to check with your accredited institution first. Some additional details are here.

Wed Dec 5 at 6 PM: The Invisible Cost of Imaginary Property

Detail from photo by Fred von Lohmann, (cc) via flickr

New kinds of privilege are extracting wealth from people who
produce. Historically, owners of land extracted tribute in exchange for the resource everyone needs to produce or even
live. But more recently, imaginary property “rights,” really just
the power to levy a toll on production, and which were well-understood by Henry George, have taken an increasing share of wealth. Chuck Metalitz will explain how these new privileges work, what they cost us, and how we can work to minimize the damage they cause.

At 6 PM on Wednesday December 5, at 30 E Adams #1207.  Free, donations welcome.

Nov 12 Mon 6 PM: High Cost of Government Revenue

from Cheerfulmonk via Flickr (cc)

Whether we go over the “fiscal cliff” or muddle through in a less dramatic way, one thing that seems certain to survive is the Federal Income Tax.

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 November  12, 6 p.m. at the Henry George School, 30 E Adams #1207.  Free, donations welcome.

Thurs Nov 8 6 PM: Political Economy Book Club discusses The Communist Manifesto

image credit: Andrew Becraft via flickr (cc)

The Communist Manifesto (Das Kommunistische Manifest), originally titled Manifesto of the Communist Party is a short 1848 publication written by the political theorists Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. It has since been recognized as one of the world’s most influential political manuscripts. Commissioned by the Communist League, it laid out the League’s purposes and program. It presents an analytical approach to the “class struggle” (historical and present) and the problems of capitalism, rather than a prediction of communism’s potential future forms.

The book contains Marx and Engels’ theories about the nature of society and politics, that in their own words, “The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles”. It also briefly features their ideas for how the capitalist society of the time would eventually be replaced by socialism, and then eventually communism. [from Wikipedia, who also provide links to copies of the work available for free in various formats]

And why should geoists read this book? As PEBC convenor Bob Matter puts it “We are reading it because it was highly influential, to discover what parts Marx and Engels might have gotten right, what parts they got wrong, and to better understand why communism failed every place it was tried.”

The Political Economy Book Club is open to everyone who has read the subject work, without charge (though donations for refreshments and to help pay the rent are gratefully accepted.) Meets 6 PM Thursday November 8, at the Henry George School, 30 E Adams #1207.  RSVP appreciated to Bob Matter; email him or call 312 450 2906 for further information.

Oct 27, Sat, 1 PM: Invisible Robbery Tour

Facade on Wabash, 2010 (Henry George School photo)

Originating as a field trip for “Progress & Poverty” students, our Invisible Robbery Tour is now open to all.

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

We’ll walk 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.