St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-12-24
Buell. VS.. Bassett.

Tothe Editor of the Globe.
In his criticisms of the single tax a
few weeks ago. my good friend j. b.
Bassett undertook to support the propo-
StlOn that all property should pay taxes
II proportion to its value.
''What is government for?'' asks Mr..
Bassett. For the protection of prop
erty. What sort OF property requires
most protection? Plainly, it is personal
property and buildings. What sort Of
property. then, should pay most taxes,
ii any discrimination is made at all?2.f-
Surely, THAI which receives most pro-
lection. Therefore, it certainly should
not pay more than its equitable share of
taxes with ali other property" These
are not Mr. Bassett's exact words, but
they fairly convey the idea.
This is Il common error. and one that
many people fall into. Besides, the
fallacy is so hidden as to be somewhat
difficult to find. In the first place,
property never pays taxes: neither does
Ianu pay taxes. The question now is,
"How can we levy taxes so that each
man and woman shall pay his just share
for the support of the government
MIR. BaSsett assumes that this result
can be reached by putting on the tax
list everything that men and women
pOSScSS. MI. DdSStjI UDcS IUL SilOW tiIdb
this ever has been done. much less does
he attempt to Show how it can be done.
On the contrary, he practically admits
that il has not and cannot be done.
Surely there must he something badly
out of joint i'll the order of the universe,
if the only natural method of getting
public revenue is by system of taxa
ton that man has not and cannot put
into practical use.
But IL is not true that we should have
just system of taxation, even if we
could do the impossible and assess
everything and collect taxes from their
owner at certain net per cent.
TO quote Mr.. Sherman, 1.-The better
you make such a system the worse
it is"
Neither is it true that property in land
does not require that protection of the
law. Without any government, it is
true. the land would stay where it is,
and public sentiment would probably
protect Mr.. BasSett in the natural right
to possess and enjoy it if he were using
it. But ii there were no government,
how long does Mr.. Bassett suppose his
right would stand to put fence around
piece of vacant land and keep others
off while he collected from them price
for the privilege of using part of the
free gift of nature? Thus it appears
that the protecting arm of government
is rather more necessary to the holder
of Idle land than to the holder of any
sort of personal property or structures.
Common honesty recognizes a mans
right to the product of his own energy.
But that same common honesty rebels
against any mans right to hold Gods
free gifts out of use that he may compel
his felloWmen to pay him tribute.
And here we come to the kernel of the
whole question. 1t is not true that peo-
pie should pay for the support of society
in proportion to the property they pos
sess. People should pay taxes in pro-
portion to the direct benefits they re-
ceive from society. In other words,
each one should pay for the government
he gets, the same as If he were buyln
coal.
1t is we'll established principle of
political economy that the direct bene-
fits each person derives from society is
accurately measured by the value of the
land he has exclusive ownership of.
Surely Mr.. Bassett Will not deny the
correctness of this principle. If L own
no land q use land in its economic sense
to cover al. natural forces or advantages)
and renta piece from Mr.. Bassett then
L pay him for the advantages of So
clety. lie sells me the government
l get. Now | submit that having
paid him for a certain amount
of government or for certain social adj
vantages, he is in 1uty bound to deliver
to me what paid him for. And it isn't
fair for him to favor system of taxa
ton that compels me to help him pay
in taxes for the very things that l have
once paid him for directly in rent.
The land owner is able to sell the adj
vantages of society to his fellow men,.
and it is his duty to pay for the goods
that he has sold.
Here then is natural source of pub
lie revenue. The value of land is the
product of society and belongs in the
public treasury to be used to meet the
needs of society.
What has Mr.. Bassett to say why
judgment should not be rendered
ag ainst him. c. j. BUELL..