*Land Use

In response to an article written by Harrison Astbury on November 18, 2020 Why a property tax is not the answer, I believe that Astbury is half right. Real estate consists of two types of property, land and improvements. A property tax on buildings and… Read More »Why a property tax on land value is indeed the answer – Op-Ed

The rush to declare the ‘death of cities’ in the wake of COVID-19 was almost certainly premature, given that rural areas are now struggling to contain the virus to nearly the same extent as urban areas did in the spring. However, the virus has dealt… Read More »Land Value Capture Can Help Mass Transit Systems Rebuild Post Pandemic

In the last weeks, our attention has (rightly) been focused at the national level, and in a time when the word “unprecedented” has been used so often it barely registers, it was hardly surprising that the 2020 Presidential election was one for the record books. … Read More »The Presidential Election is Over. It’s Time to Think Local.

Property taxes are ubiquitous around the world, and in the United States, they’re a tax most people love to hate.  Unlike sales and income taxes, which are baked into every purchase and paycheck, property taxes are added onto mortgage bills or mailed in as lump… Read More »A Surprising Vaccine for Cities Hit Hard By COVID: Property Taxes

By: Matthew Downhour Analogies are simple and sometimes helpful ways to understand policy and economics but can obscure as much as they reveal. Both on the left and right, it is popular to think of the economy (or more broadly, the good things in life)… Read More »BOOK REVIEW: One Billion Americans

There are two types of democracy. First, the democracy of a small club with a voting membership of less than a thousand.  Here, the members can personally meet and know the candidates for office, and can have their voices heard within the club. Second is… Read More »How Democracy Fails and Succeeds