Why do Western politicians slavishly follow American policy, no matter how bad it is, eg Ukraine?

Answer: The Almighty Dollar. 

Michael Hudson explains:

As long as America has been using its non-governmental organizations, its charities, its overseas subsidies to promote politicians who are favorable to the United States, the politicians will follow US policies. The United States has talent scouts all over Europe and Asia that look for promising graduates in their 20s who are very opportunistic and yet have a seemingly wide political appeal. They nurture them and they give them financial support from the American foundations, and bring them to America for training and gradually groom them to be prime ministers or politicians or military leaders or political administrators who are pro-American.

They’ve been doing this for the last 75 years since World War II ended. You have a managerial class in Europe and apparently much of Asia that has already been protected by the United States that has their wealth tied to support from the United States and property in the United States or in the US economy. So the political leadership of Europe is very different from the popular perceptions of what Europe needs. Europe and much of Asia is being run according to what benefits the United States, not what benefits their own domestic populations. And of course, that’s what gets America so upset about Russia and China: They’re actually trying to run their economies to support their own living standards, their own population and their own military power instead of subordinating their interests to US interests.

Why do Western politicians slavishly follow American policy, no matter how bad it is, eg Ukraine?

Answer: The Almighty Dollar. 

Michael Hudson explains:

As long as America has been using its non-governmental organizations, its charities, its overseas subsidies to promote politicians who are favorable to the United States, the politicians will follow US policies. The United States has talent scouts all over Europe and Asia that look for promising graduates in their 20s who are very opportunistic and yet have a seemingly wide political appeal. They nurture them and they give them financial support from the American foundations, and bring them to America for training and gradually groom them to be prime ministers or politicians or military leaders or political administrators who are pro-American.

They’ve been doing this for the last 75 years since World War II ended. You have a managerial class in Europe and apparently much of Asia that has already been protected by the United States that has their wealth tied to support from the United States and property in the United States or in the US economy. So the political leadership of Europe is very different from the popular perceptions of what Europe needs. Europe and much of Asia is being run according to what benefits the United States, not what benefits their own domestic populations. And of course, that’s what gets America so upset about Russia and China: They’re actually trying to run their economies to support their own living standards, their own population and their own military power instead of subordinating their interests to US interests.

 Queensland Vaccination Mandates Relaxed

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced that from 1am on June 30, COVID-19 vaccinations would no longer be required for visitors to residential aged care, disability accommodation or prisons.

Chief Health Officer John Gerrard will also revoke the high-risk worker COVID-19 vaccine mandate in schools, early childhood education, outside school care, kindergartens, family day care, police watch houses, youth detention centres and airports.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-24/qld-coronavirus-covid-vaccination-restrictions-teachers-police/100958124

But wait, do not vaccine 'mandates' violate the Nuremberg code:

"The voluntary consent of the human subject is absolutely essential. This means that the person involved should have legal capacity to give consent; should be so situated as to be able to exercise free power of choice, without the intervention of any element of force, fraud, deceit, duress, overreaching, or other ulterior form of constraint or coercion"

https://media.tghn.org/medialibrary/2011/04/BMJ_No_7070_Volume_313_The_Nuremberg_Code.pdf

How on earth were 'mandates' ever allowed in the first place, especially mandates of a 'vaccine' which doesn't actually vaccinate anybody?

Aboriginal Flagpole

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-22/nsw-government-reviews-harbour-bridge-aboriginal-flag-pole-price/101171376

You could buy 50 one bedroom apartments for that, practically create a whole department of housing.

But I am very happy to discover there is no problem with indigenous homelessness in NSW. I would have imagined there was at least a small problem.


Prime Minister Albanese speaks up on the Julian Assange issue

“I have made clear on what my position is publicly. I made it clear last year,” Mr Albanese said.

“I stand by my comments that I made then.

“I make this point as well, there are some people who think that if you put things in capital letters on Twitter and put an exclamation mark that somehow makes it more important. It doesn’t.

“I intend to lead a government that engages diplomatically and appropriately with our partners.”

https://thewest.com.au/business/anthony-albanese-calls-out-twitter-activists-over-julian-assange-extradition-c-7227253

After this public and clear statement by the Prime Minister many of us were firmly convinced that we had no idea whether Albanese was working for Assange's release or not.

The President of Mexico helpfully chimed in with some additional remarks:

Mexico's President says he will ask US President Joe Biden to address WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's case when the two men meet in July.

Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador raised Mr Assange's case at a regular news conference on Tuesday, saying his country would open its doors to the Australian if he was released.

"I'm going to ask President Biden to address this issue … humanism must prevail," Mr Lopez Obrador said.

"He is the best journalist of our time in the world and has been very unfairly treated, worse than a criminal," he said.

"This is an embarrassment to the world."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-22/mexico-president-says-his-country-would-open-doors-to-assange/101173540

Comment on Gun Debate

Perhaps we need to re-frame the debate. The guns that do the damage (massacres) are military, rapid repeat-fire weapons. Citizens, whether under the 2A or any other sensible gun law, could be allowed to have traditional, single shot rifles, or single or double barrelled shotguns, perhaps single-action revolvers, for legitimate purposes such as hunting, pest and stock control, sporting and target shooting. But all automatic, semi-automatic, lever action, bolt action or pump action or repeater weapons could be classified as military and made unavailable to the public. Do the public get mortars and howitzers under the 2A as well?

Russia is bombarding Ukrainian positions with 50,000 shells a day

Ukraine is suffering 100-200 killed in action per day.

Time for a little basic math. How long can they last?

This isnt a war, its a massacre.  The best thing is an immediate ceasefire and peace/ surrender negotiations.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/06/10/ukraine-ammunition-donbas-russia/
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-61742736

Larry Johnson gives an overview of the origins and progress of the Ukraine war: It is notable that non-MSM commentators from both Russia and America have a broadly similar evaluation of the war, cf Johnson, Scott Ritter, the Saker, Martyanov, Douglas McGregor.

https://sonar21.com/larry-johnson-ukraine-russia-and-the-truth-about-nato/

 Queensland Vaccination Mandates Relaxed

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced that from 1am on June 30, COVID-19 vaccinations would no longer be required for visitors to residential aged care, disability accommodation or prisons.

Chief Health Officer John Gerrard will also revoke the high-risk worker COVID-19 vaccine mandate in schools, early childhood education, outside school care, kindergartens, family day care, police watch houses, youth detention centres and airports.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-24/qld-coronavirus-covid-vaccination-restrictions-teachers-police/100958124

But wait, do not vaccine 'mandates' violate the Nuremberg code:

"The voluntary consent of the human subject is absolutely essential. This means that the person involved should have legal capacity to give consent; should be so situated as to be able to exercise free power of choice, without the intervention of any element of force, fraud, deceit, duress, overreaching, or other ulterior form of constraint or coercion"

https://media.tghn.org/medialibrary/2011/04/BMJ_No_7070_Volume_313_The_Nuremberg_Code.pdf

How on earth were 'mandates' ever allowed in the first place, especially mandates of a 'vaccine' which doesn't actually vaccinate anybody?

Aboriginal Flagpole

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-22/nsw-government-reviews-harbour-bridge-aboriginal-flag-pole-price/101171376

You could buy 50 one bedroom apartments for that, practically create a whole department of housing.

But I am very happy to discover there is no problem with indigenous homelessness in NSW. I would have imagined there was at least a small problem.


Prime Minister Albanese speaks up on the Julian Assange issue

“I have made clear on what my position is publicly. I made it clear last year,” Mr Albanese said.

“I stand by my comments that I made then.

“I make this point as well, there are some people who think that if you put things in capital letters on Twitter and put an exclamation mark that somehow makes it more important. It doesn’t.

“I intend to lead a government that engages diplomatically and appropriately with our partners.”

https://thewest.com.au/business/anthony-albanese-calls-out-twitter-activists-over-julian-assange-extradition-c-7227253

After this public and clear statement by the Prime Minister many of us were firmly convinced that we had no idea whether Albanese was working for Assange's release or not.

The President of Mexico helpfully chimed in with some additional remarks:

Mexico's President says he will ask US President Joe Biden to address WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's case when the two men meet in July.

Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador raised Mr Assange's case at a regular news conference on Tuesday, saying his country would open its doors to the Australian if he was released.

"I'm going to ask President Biden to address this issue … humanism must prevail," Mr Lopez Obrador said.

"He is the best journalist of our time in the world and has been very unfairly treated, worse than a criminal," he said.

"This is an embarrassment to the world."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-22/mexico-president-says-his-country-would-open-doors-to-assange/101173540

Comment on Gun Debate

Perhaps we need to re-frame the debate. The guns that do the damage (massacres) are military, rapid repeat-fire weapons. Citizens, whether under the 2A or any other sensible gun law, could be allowed to have traditional, single shot rifles, or single or double barrelled shotguns, perhaps single-action revolvers, for legitimate purposes such as hunting, pest and stock control, sporting and target shooting. But all automatic, semi-automatic, lever action, bolt action or pump action or repeater weapons could be classified as military and made unavailable to the public. Do the public get mortars and howitzers under the 2A as well?

Russia is bombarding Ukrainian positions with 50,000 shells a day

Ukraine is suffering 100-200 killed in action per day.

Time for a little basic math. How long can they last?

This isnt a war, its a massacre.  The best thing is an immediate ceasefire and peace/ surrender negotiations.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/06/10/ukraine-ammunition-donbas-russia/
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-61742736

Larry Johnson gives an overview of the origins and progress of the Ukraine war: It is notable that non-MSM commentators from both Russia and America have a broadly similar evaluation of the war, cf Johnson, Scott Ritter, the Saker, Martyanov, Douglas McGregor.

https://sonar21.com/larry-johnson-ukraine-russia-and-the-truth-about-nato/

ProPornOT

The dying corporate media has come up with a desperate ploy to try and survive and defeat their opposition, the internet.

They have established a list of 'fake news' sites that disseminate pro-Russian propaganda and other 'lies'.

ProPornOT

Some of the sites listed (antiwar.com, counterpunch.org etc) are quite well known while others are reasonably well known and very useful.

Now dailystormer is, well - dailystormer; and I'm not sure what nutritionfacts is doing on the list unless it is some sort of dastardly Red plot to contaminate America's precious bodily fluids.

But most of these sites I have frankly never heard of. This suggests it could be a very handy list of sites to explore in the hope of finding more gems on the Internet. Thank you corporate media....

The List

The dying corporate media has come up with a desperate ploy to try and survive and defeat their opposition, the internet.

They have established a list of 'fake news' sites that disseminate pro-Russian propaganda and other 'lies'.

ProPornOT

Some of the sites listed (antiwar.com, counterpunch.org etc) are quite well known while others are reasonably well known and very useful.

Now dailystormer is, well - dailystormer; and I'm not sure what nutritionfacts is doing on the list unless it is some sort of dastardly Red plot to contaminate America's precious bodily fluids.

But most of these sites I have frankly never heard of. This suggests it could be a very handy list of sites to explore in the hope of finding more gems on the Internet. Thank you corporate media....

The List

ProPornOT

Carbon tax repeal: UK Conservative Environment Minister Lord Deben attacks Tony Abbott's 'reckless' plan to scrap carbon tax

link

Lord Deben "accus[ed] the Prime Minister of 'recklessly endangering' the future of the world."

He said Abbott "appears to be more concerned with advancing its own short-term political interests" than dealing with global warming.

No kidding. 

Abbott's victory over Labor in 2013 is a classic Pyrrhic victory - he won the battle but lost virtually the whole of his army of intellectual and moral credibility.

The Abbott Coalition and its climate change denialist position is a battleship in the age of the aircraft carrier. It was doomed the moment it left port. Sure, it got a lucky hit on the hapless HMS Gillard and blew her to smithereens, but all we have to do is hit the battleship Denial over and over again with every shell, bomb and torpedo we have until if finally capsizes and sinks.

link

Lord Deben "accus[ed] the Prime Minister of 'recklessly endangering' the future of the world."

He said Abbott "appears to be more concerned with advancing its own short-term political interests" than dealing with global warming.

No kidding. 

Abbott's victory over Labor in 2013 is a classic Pyrrhic victory - he won the battle but lost virtually the whole of his army of intellectual and moral credibility.

The Abbott Coalition and its climate change denialist position is a battleship in the age of the aircraft carrier. It was doomed the moment it left port. Sure, it got a lucky hit on the hapless HMS Gillard and blew her to smithereens, but all we have to do is hit the battleship Denial over and over again with every shell, bomb and torpedo we have until if finally capsizes and sinks.

Carbon tax repeal: UK Conservative Environment Minister Lord Deben attacks Tony Abbott's 'reckless' plan to scrap carbon tax

Fossilpower actively opposes renewable energy

It's not enough for the fossilpower to oppose carbon taxes or other penalties or limitations on the emission of toxic pollution, it will also actively oppose the deployment of renewable energy, regarding that too as a threat to its profits.

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/11/12/2928231/arizona-utility-alec-membership/

In order to prevent runaway global warming, we are going to have to engage in a knock-down drag-out fight with sociopathic corporatism itself.

It's not enough for the fossilpower to oppose carbon taxes or other penalties or limitations on the emission of toxic pollution, it will also actively oppose the deployment of renewable energy, regarding that too as a threat to its profits.

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/11/12/2928231/arizona-utility-alec-membership/

In order to prevent runaway global warming, we are going to have to engage in a knock-down drag-out fight with sociopathic corporatism itself.

Fossilpower actively opposes renewable energy

Abolition

The 'gradualist' approach has manifestly failed and I think we need a more sustained radical and moral approach to the problem of climate change.

Namely, Abolition.

We have to completely abolish the fossil fuel industry by the end of the century, and achieve at least 80-90% abolition by the middle of the century.

By this I mean the exploration, inventorying, trading, listing, mining, selling, exporting, exchanging and of course above all the burning of coal, oil and gas all have to be completely abolished.

It doesn't really matter how it's done, so long as it is done. 

The 'gradualist' approach has manifestly failed and I think we need a more sustained radical and moral approach to the problem of climate change.

Namely, Abolition.

We have to completely abolish the fossil fuel industry by the end of the century, and achieve at least 80-90% abolition by the middle of the century.

By this I mean the exploration, inventorying, trading, listing, mining, selling, exporting, exchanging and of course above all the burning of coal, oil and gas all have to be completely abolished.

It doesn't really matter how it's done, so long as it is done. 

Abolition

Michael Hudson: Financial Conquest or Clean Slate?

The history of how societies have dealt politically with their debt overhead throughout history needs to be highlighted in the public consciousness and placed at the heart of the academic curriculum and media discussion.

Michael Hudson

The history of how societies have dealt politically with their debt overhead throughout history needs to be highlighted in the public consciousness and placed at the heart of the academic curriculum and media discussion.

Michael Hudson

Michael Hudson: Financial Conquest or Clean Slate?

When Chomsky wept

When Chomsky wept

A moving tribute to Chomsky from an old friend.

Certainly not everyone, but a lot of us think Chomsky is the real deal: A hero, saint, prophet, 'truly great human being'.  A combination of intellectual capacity and moral integrity that is admirable in the highest degree.

One of the commenters points to Einstein's famous tribute to Gandhi but another says Gandhi was a bit odd and that such a tribute might be better said of Chomsky. It is hard to disagree. 

When Chomsky wept

A moving tribute to Chomsky from an old friend.

Certainly not everyone, but a lot of us think Chomsky is the real deal: A hero, saint, prophet, 'truly great human being'.  A combination of intellectual capacity and moral integrity that is admirable in the highest degree.

One of the commenters points to Einstein's famous tribute to Gandhi but another says Gandhi was a bit odd and that such a tribute might be better said of Chomsky. It is hard to disagree. 

When Chomsky wept

Three Charts That Illustrate Why Solar Has Hit A True Tipping Point

Three Charts That Illustrate Why Solar Has Hit A True Tipping Point:
A new report from the prominent global consulting firm McKinsey shows why solar photovoltaics have hit a tipping point.
As the economics of solar PV continue to improve steadily and dramatically, McKinsey analysts conclude that the yearly “economic potential” of solar PV deployment could reach 600-1,000 gigawatts (1 million megawatts) by 2020.
In the year 2000, the global demand for solar PV was 170 megawatts.
That doesn’t mean 1 million megawatts will get built per year after 2020; it’s just an estimate of the economic competitiveness of solar PV. When factoring in real-word limitations like the regulatory environment, availability of financing, and infrastructure capabilities, the actual yearly market will be closer to 100 gigawatts in 2020.
That could bring in more than $1 trillion in investments between 2012 to 2020.
The McKinsey report, appropriately named “Darkest Before Dawn,” highlights three crucial factors that are giving the solar industry so much momentum — even with such a violent shakeout occurring in the manufacturing sector today.

1. Because solar mostly competes with retail rates, the economic potential for the technology in high resource areas is far bigger than actual deployment figures would suggest. McKinsey predicts that the cost of installing a commercial-scale solar PV system will fall another 40 percent by 2015, growing the “unsubsidized economic potential” (i.e. the economic competitiveness without federal subsidies) of the technology to hundreds of gigawatts by 2020.

2. The most important cost reductions in the next decade will come not through groundbreaking lab-scale improvements, but through incremental cost reductions due to deployment. The McKinsey analysis shows how the dramatically these cumulative cost improvements can change the economics of solar. (For more, see: Anatomy of a Solar PV System: How to Continue “Ferocious Cost Reductions” for Solar Electricity.)


3. Solar is already competitive in a variety of markets today. As the chart below illustrates, there are at least three markets where solar PV competes widely today: Off-grid, isolated grids, and the commercial/residential sectors in high-resource areas. Of course, the competitiveness of the technology varies dramatically depending on a variety of local factors. But this comparison shows just how steadily the cross-over is approaching.

Wait, solar is actually competitive? Didn’t the death of Solyndra mean the death of the solar industry? Addressing the solar skeptics, the McKinsey analysts counter the notion that the solar sector is down for the count:

“Those who believe the solar industry has run its course may be surprised. Solar companies that reduce their costs, develop value propositions to target the needs of particular segments, and strategically navigate the evolving regulatory landscape can position themselves to reap significant rewards in the coming years.”

The short-term picture for solar is extraordinarily challenging, particularly for manufacturers trying to figure out how to make a profit with such a massive oversupply of panels on the market. But this is not an industry in its death throes; these are natural pains for a disruptive, fast-growing industry. The tipping point is upon us.

Three Charts That Illustrate Why Solar Has Hit A True Tipping Point:
A new report from the prominent global consulting firm McKinsey shows why solar photovoltaics have hit a tipping point.
As the economics of solar PV continue to improve steadily and dramatically, McKinsey analysts conclude that the yearly “economic potential” of solar PV deployment could reach 600-1,000 gigawatts (1 million megawatts) by 2020.
In the year 2000, the global demand for solar PV was 170 megawatts.
That doesn’t mean 1 million megawatts will get built per year after 2020; it’s just an estimate of the economic competitiveness of solar PV. When factoring in real-word limitations like the regulatory environment, availability of financing, and infrastructure capabilities, the actual yearly market will be closer to 100 gigawatts in 2020.
That could bring in more than $1 trillion in investments between 2012 to 2020.
The McKinsey report, appropriately named “Darkest Before Dawn,” highlights three crucial factors that are giving the solar industry so much momentum — even with such a violent shakeout occurring in the manufacturing sector today.

1. Because solar mostly competes with retail rates, the economic potential for the technology in high resource areas is far bigger than actual deployment figures would suggest. McKinsey predicts that the cost of installing a commercial-scale solar PV system will fall another 40 percent by 2015, growing the “unsubsidized economic potential” (i.e. the economic competitiveness without federal subsidies) of the technology to hundreds of gigawatts by 2020.

2. The most important cost reductions in the next decade will come not through groundbreaking lab-scale improvements, but through incremental cost reductions due to deployment. The McKinsey analysis shows how the dramatically these cumulative cost improvements can change the economics of solar. (For more, see: Anatomy of a Solar PV System: How to Continue “Ferocious Cost Reductions” for Solar Electricity.)


3. Solar is already competitive in a variety of markets today. As the chart below illustrates, there are at least three markets where solar PV competes widely today: Off-grid, isolated grids, and the commercial/residential sectors in high-resource areas. Of course, the competitiveness of the technology varies dramatically depending on a variety of local factors. But this comparison shows just how steadily the cross-over is approaching.

Wait, solar is actually competitive? Didn’t the death of Solyndra mean the death of the solar industry? Addressing the solar skeptics, the McKinsey analysts counter the notion that the solar sector is down for the count:

“Those who believe the solar industry has run its course may be surprised. Solar companies that reduce their costs, develop value propositions to target the needs of particular segments, and strategically navigate the evolving regulatory landscape can position themselves to reap significant rewards in the coming years.”

The short-term picture for solar is extraordinarily challenging, particularly for manufacturers trying to figure out how to make a profit with such a massive oversupply of panels on the market. But this is not an industry in its death throes; these are natural pains for a disruptive, fast-growing industry. The tipping point is upon us.

Three Charts That Illustrate Why Solar Has Hit A True Tipping Point

Kilkenny People Article on Site Value Tax

Kilkenny People Article on Site Value Tax:

in the Kilkenny People
Jill Kerby: Preparing for the real property tax
Published on Sunday 22 April 2012 14:45
Next year we are expected to have a full-blown property tax – of some kind – that will replace the controversial €100 household charge and the second-property charge of €200.
The suggestion is that the government expects to raise at least twice as much – at least around €3.2 billion – than the €1.6 billion they will collect if every property owner signs up and pays the household charge.
The argument in favour of a property tax is that taxing property is a more sustainable source of exchequer funds than taxing labour (via income tax), which can de-incentivise workers and affect employment levels. It is claimed that it is also a fairer form of taxation, especially if the tax pertains to the site value or productive value of the land on which the dwelling exists, and not just the market value of the dwelling.
If the government adopts a site tax next year – and not everyone is singing off the same hymn sheet after junior minister Jan O’Sullivan implied on RTÉ recently that house values would determine what tax is paid – they will have to ensure that the complex will have to be both fair and transparent.
If you are interested to know how a site tax will work and how much you might have to pay, you should consider downloading a study that was done by the Daft.ie economist Ronan Lyons last December for the Smart Taxes Network. (See http://smarttaxes.org/2012/01/30/ronan-lyons-report-on-site-value-tax-now-available/)
In the study Lyons presents a very convincing argument in favour of taxing residential – and commercial land for that matter – on the grounds that “the supply of land… is fixed and thus a parcel of land cannot be ‘withdrawn from supply’; it can merely lie idle. Thus, SVT cannot affect economic outcomes: it is not distortionary.”
Furthermore, says Lyons, “land values vary. Much of the value of a site is created purely by its designation as residential, not agricultural land, i.e. at the stroke of a pen. More generally, land values vary with the value of surrounding amenities. These amenities are typically public goods, either directly, i.e. provided by the Government with taxpayers’ money or indirectly i.e. amenities created by the populations living there, such as social capital, or a rich market for jobs, services or cultural activities. All these amenities incur costs of maintenance or costs of opportunity. Therefore, if public goods create private value, the fairest way of paying for their maintenance is to recoup some of that value from those who benefit.”
He argues that a site value tax “is not a tax in the conventional sense. It is better thought of as a maintenance charge for the value of amenities enjoyed by landowners and residents.”
A site tax also discourages land being left idle or underdeveloped for speculative purposes, and derelict land zoned residential is taxed at the same rate as residential land with houses on it.
In the ideal site value tax world – and Lyons goes into great detail about how site values could be calculated, which households might be exempt or at least be able to postpone their payment (such as low-income pensioners living on high-value sites – their payments would be collected from their estate) and how previous costs to homeowners, such as high stamp-duty payments during the boom years, could be offset by tax credits. He also notes that a proper system of income distribution will have to take place between high-site-value areas and low-value ones if there are to be any services provided to people who live in more remote or poorer areas.
One thing is very apparent from this study, and that is that owners of even modest homes in busy, high-amenity towns and cities will pay a great deal more than €100 if such a tax is introduced. If a 2% equivalent SVT is introduced, top-ranked sites – where the land is valued at, say, €2 million an acre, could result in annual tax bills of €1,200; a €10 million an acre valuation would see an owner paying as much as €4,960 a year. (Incidentally, these are not untypical UK council tax values or property/site taxes for homeowners in Canadian and American cities where many readers may have family members residing right now.)
Ireland is very unusual in not having a formal property tax, but the old rates system was incorporated into our income and consumption tax system in the 1970s. Consumption taxes are high here and the marginal income tax/PRSI/USC is now around 52% and as high as 56% for higher earners.
Is it fair to burden already stretched middle earners, many of whom are mortgage holders in negative equity and arrears with a potential site value tax of a few thousand euro without reforming and reducing income and consumption taxes? (The Commission on Taxation said absolutely not in its last property tax report.)
As you read this, a new state body is compiling all property prices achieved since 2010. A new property registration authority will report to the government soon on the type of property tax that should be introduced, and everyone who has registered for the household charge will be on that property tax list.
The Smart Taxes Network report (which includes a number of property case studies at the end) could be the framework on which the new tax is based.
Read it and then act: Open a savings account called “Site Tax” at your local bank or credit union and start making contributions.
And get used to the idea that you are no longer just the King of your Castle: you’re now a tenant of the state and the tax you will pay is rent.
jill@jillkerby.ie

Kilkenny People Article on Site Value Tax:

in the Kilkenny People
Jill Kerby: Preparing for the real property tax
Published on Sunday 22 April 2012 14:45
Next year we are expected to have a full-blown property tax – of some kind – that will replace the controversial €100 household charge and the second-property charge of €200.
The suggestion is that the government expects to raise at least twice as much – at least around €3.2 billion – than the €1.6 billion they will collect if every property owner signs up and pays the household charge.
The argument in favour of a property tax is that taxing property is a more sustainable source of exchequer funds than taxing labour (via income tax), which can de-incentivise workers and affect employment levels. It is claimed that it is also a fairer form of taxation, especially if the tax pertains to the site value or productive value of the land on which the dwelling exists, and not just the market value of the dwelling.
If the government adopts a site tax next year – and not everyone is singing off the same hymn sheet after junior minister Jan O’Sullivan implied on RTÉ recently that house values would determine what tax is paid – they will have to ensure that the complex will have to be both fair and transparent.
If you are interested to know how a site tax will work and how much you might have to pay, you should consider downloading a study that was done by the Daft.ie economist Ronan Lyons last December for the Smart Taxes Network. (See http://smarttaxes.org/2012/01/30/ronan-lyons-report-on-site-value-tax-now-available/)
In the study Lyons presents a very convincing argument in favour of taxing residential – and commercial land for that matter – on the grounds that “the supply of land… is fixed and thus a parcel of land cannot be ‘withdrawn from supply’; it can merely lie idle. Thus, SVT cannot affect economic outcomes: it is not distortionary.”
Furthermore, says Lyons, “land values vary. Much of the value of a site is created purely by its designation as residential, not agricultural land, i.e. at the stroke of a pen. More generally, land values vary with the value of surrounding amenities. These amenities are typically public goods, either directly, i.e. provided by the Government with taxpayers’ money or indirectly i.e. amenities created by the populations living there, such as social capital, or a rich market for jobs, services or cultural activities. All these amenities incur costs of maintenance or costs of opportunity. Therefore, if public goods create private value, the fairest way of paying for their maintenance is to recoup some of that value from those who benefit.”
He argues that a site value tax “is not a tax in the conventional sense. It is better thought of as a maintenance charge for the value of amenities enjoyed by landowners and residents.”
A site tax also discourages land being left idle or underdeveloped for speculative purposes, and derelict land zoned residential is taxed at the same rate as residential land with houses on it.
In the ideal site value tax world – and Lyons goes into great detail about how site values could be calculated, which households might be exempt or at least be able to postpone their payment (such as low-income pensioners living on high-value sites – their payments would be collected from their estate) and how previous costs to homeowners, such as high stamp-duty payments during the boom years, could be offset by tax credits. He also notes that a proper system of income distribution will have to take place between high-site-value areas and low-value ones if there are to be any services provided to people who live in more remote or poorer areas.
One thing is very apparent from this study, and that is that owners of even modest homes in busy, high-amenity towns and cities will pay a great deal more than €100 if such a tax is introduced. If a 2% equivalent SVT is introduced, top-ranked sites – where the land is valued at, say, €2 million an acre, could result in annual tax bills of €1,200; a €10 million an acre valuation would see an owner paying as much as €4,960 a year. (Incidentally, these are not untypical UK council tax values or property/site taxes for homeowners in Canadian and American cities where many readers may have family members residing right now.)
Ireland is very unusual in not having a formal property tax, but the old rates system was incorporated into our income and consumption tax system in the 1970s. Consumption taxes are high here and the marginal income tax/PRSI/USC is now around 52% and as high as 56% for higher earners.
Is it fair to burden already stretched middle earners, many of whom are mortgage holders in negative equity and arrears with a potential site value tax of a few thousand euro without reforming and reducing income and consumption taxes? (The Commission on Taxation said absolutely not in its last property tax report.)
As you read this, a new state body is compiling all property prices achieved since 2010. A new property registration authority will report to the government soon on the type of property tax that should be introduced, and everyone who has registered for the household charge will be on that property tax list.
The Smart Taxes Network report (which includes a number of property case studies at the end) could be the framework on which the new tax is based.
Read it and then act: Open a savings account called “Site Tax” at your local bank or credit union and start making contributions.
And get used to the idea that you are no longer just the King of your Castle: you’re now a tenant of the state and the tax you will pay is rent.
jill@jillkerby.ie

Kilkenny People Article on Site Value Tax

The Fossilpower: 25 trillion dollars.

This is the estimated value of the fossil fuel industry, according to Mulga Mumblebrain.

The fossilpower deserves to be compared to the slavepower in the ante-bellum US, or the landpower in Georgist theory, or the moneypower in the context of monetary reform. It's a huge vested interest which generates propaganda and deluded followers in equal measure, and which will use any tactic - including violence and war - to prevent serious discussion of the issue, and the inevitable reform which by definition eliminates its value.

The fossil fuel industry simply has to be shut down - and replaced with renewables where possible but shut down in any case. The carbon tax (or better, the carbon fee and dividend) would be a smooth and efficient way to achieve this, but if that is not possible because of corrupted politics and media, then direct action might be necessary.

It's just good luck that concentrated solar electric power can now be produced at an estimated 20c kw/h, and expected to fall with deployment close to the current market price of electricity of 16c kw/h.

This is the estimated value of the fossil fuel industry, according to Mulga Mumblebrain.

The fossilpower deserves to be compared to the slavepower in the ante-bellum US, or the landpower in Georgist theory, or the moneypower in the context of monetary reform. It's a huge vested interest which generates propaganda and deluded followers in equal measure, and which will use any tactic - including violence and war - to prevent serious discussion of the issue, and the inevitable reform which by definition eliminates its value.

The fossil fuel industry simply has to be shut down - and replaced with renewables where possible but shut down in any case. The carbon tax (or better, the carbon fee and dividend) would be a smooth and efficient way to achieve this, but if that is not possible because of corrupted politics and media, then direct action might be necessary.

It's just good luck that concentrated solar electric power can now be produced at an estimated 20c kw/h, and expected to fall with deployment close to the current market price of electricity of 16c kw/h.

The Fossilpower: 25 trillion dollars.

Amusing Remarks by George Bernard Shaw on Henry George

George Bernard Shaw, in a letter written in 1905 to Hamlin Garland, describes how, more than twenty years earlier, he had attended Henry George's first platform appearance in London. He knew at once, he said, that the speaker must be an American, for four reasons:

Because he pronounced 'necessarily' . . . with the accent on the third syllable instead of the first;

because he was deliberately and intentionally oratorical, which is not customary among shy people like the English;

because he spoke of Liberty, Justice, Truth, Natural Law, and other strange 18th-century superstitions; and

because he explained with great simplicity and sincerity the views of the Creator, who had gone completely out of fashion in London in the previous decade and had not been heard of there since.

link

George Bernard Shaw, in a letter written in 1905 to Hamlin Garland, describes how, more than twenty years earlier, he had attended Henry George's first platform appearance in London. He knew at once, he said, that the speaker must be an American, for four reasons:

Because he pronounced 'necessarily' . . . with the accent on the third syllable instead of the first;

because he was deliberately and intentionally oratorical, which is not customary among shy people like the English;

because he spoke of Liberty, Justice, Truth, Natural Law, and other strange 18th-century superstitions; and

because he explained with great simplicity and sincerity the views of the Creator, who had gone completely out of fashion in London in the previous decade and had not been heard of there since.

link

Amusing Remarks by George Bernard Shaw on Henry George

Afghanistan massacre: Lone nut theory?

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2108798,00.html

Afghans expressed doubt Monday that a single U.S. Army soldier could have shot and killed 16 civilians in houses over a mile (2 kilometers) apart and burned the bodies afterward.

"It is not possible for only one American soldier to come out of his base, kill a number of people far away, burn the bodies, go to another house and kill civilians there, then walk at least 2 kilometers and enter another house, kill civilians and burn them," said Ayubi.

Abdul Ghani, a local councilman in Panjwai district, said local villagers reported seeing two groups of soldiers.

"The villagers said they were hearing machine gun fire and pistol fire from different directions," said Ghani.

The statement quoted a 15-year-old survivor named Rafiullah, who was shot in the leg, as telling Karzai in a phone call that "soldiers" broke into his house, woke up his family and began shooting them.

The U.S. military has said there is no indication that more than one soldier carried out the attacks in two villages in Kandahar province before dawn Sunday.

No indication at all, apart from logic, logistics and eyewitness and survivor accounts.

Heavens, things must be bad in Afghanistan if the damage-control cover story - a mass murdering psycopath - is better than whatever the truth might be.

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2108798,00.html

Afghans expressed doubt Monday that a single U.S. Army soldier could have shot and killed 16 civilians in houses over a mile (2 kilometers) apart and burned the bodies afterward.

"It is not possible for only one American soldier to come out of his base, kill a number of people far away, burn the bodies, go to another house and kill civilians there, then walk at least 2 kilometers and enter another house, kill civilians and burn them," said Ayubi.

Abdul Ghani, a local councilman in Panjwai district, said local villagers reported seeing two groups of soldiers.

"The villagers said they were hearing machine gun fire and pistol fire from different directions," said Ghani.

The statement quoted a 15-year-old survivor named Rafiullah, who was shot in the leg, as telling Karzai in a phone call that "soldiers" broke into his house, woke up his family and began shooting them.

The U.S. military has said there is no indication that more than one soldier carried out the attacks in two villages in Kandahar province before dawn Sunday.

No indication at all, apart from logic, logistics and eyewitness and survivor accounts.

Heavens, things must be bad in Afghanistan if the damage-control cover story - a mass murdering psycopath - is better than whatever the truth might be.

Afghanistan massacre: Lone nut theory?

Guest Post: Legal Experts Destroy Rationale for Obama’s Assassination Policy … And Slam Democrats for Supporting It

Guest Post: Legal Experts Destroy Rationale for Obama’s Assassination Policy … And Slam Democrats for Supporting It:

Obama Expanding Program Started by Cheney

Attorney General Eric Holder announced at Northwestern University law school that the U.S. can assassinate U.S. citizens without any without disclosure of why they are even alleged to be baddies and without any review of any nature whatsoever by any judge, Congress or the American people.
Northwestern University’s law school professor Joseph Margulies said:

Guest Post: Legal Experts Destroy Rationale for Obama’s Assassination Policy … And Slam Democrats for Supporting It:

Obama Expanding Program Started by Cheney

Attorney General Eric Holder announced at Northwestern University law school that the U.S. can assassinate U.S. citizens without any without disclosure of why they are even alleged to be baddies and without any review of any nature whatsoever by any judge, Congress or the American people.
Northwestern University’s law school professor Joseph Margulies said:

Guest Post: Legal Experts Destroy Rationale for Obama’s Assassination Policy … And Slam Democrats for Supporting It