The commonwealth. (Scotland Neck, N.C.) 1896-1929, 1916-04-18

an irresistible premium On land spee.
ulation. They attach to landowner.
ship an alluring gambler IS chance.
When land is sold, the value of the
gambling chance is added to the sell
ing price. Thus arises an abnermally
high price whiehs the heme ewner, or
ether land user, must pay for land.
Worse yet, the valuable land held va
cant or undeveloped for gambling or
speculative purposes cuts down the de-
mand for labor and capital, reduces
production, pushes down wages, and
pushes up prices of commodities. Thus,
by wholly needless blunders in our tax
system We hamper the production of
the very wealth out Of which alone
taxes can be paid. Our taxation, sys-
TEN not only obstructs all productive
industry, but diverts the lion 3 share
of such production as is permitted in
to the hands Of few non-producers,
These few owning the choice sites, levy
ing as tribute all the traffic will bear.
leave as little. to- capital and labor as
they. can be induced to accept. and
that, owing to unnatural scarcity of
opportunities, is relatively shall
amount apd zone by which no means
keeps pace with Increasing efficiency
in poduction.
Hence, in large measures, the per-
slstenee of dire poverty and fear of
bankruptcy and poverty. Hence, in a
large measure, also, the topsy-turvi-
ness of world, in which the most en-
heightened -(save the markD nations
are now busily Strengthening the flow
Ter of their humanity.
But the cure is not SO difficult. we
may dare hope, or so remote as it NAV
look BY merely opening our eyes, we
can see that the site-value of land is
the only PROPERTY whose value is en-
HANGED by public expenditure. Hence
It is the only form Of property that
should be taxed for public revenue.
Moreover, the public is the producer of
those values and should Of expediency,
right and justice get them. Let people
pay into the public treasury only in
proportion to the value Of the sites
which they accupy, and the gambling
feature would disappear from land
ownership. Suitable use of land would
become the only reason for owning it.
There would then be enough land to
go round, even in old countries. The
public would thus assume, as it ought
and can well afford to do, the risk of
drops in site value due to decline or
shift in population or public improve
ments, just as it would increase it lev
les as it increases site values.
There would then be no thought Of
taxes on Improvements or savings. Per-
sonal property, buildings, whether for
homes or factories, whether for farm
ing, mercantile or other useful pur-
poses, would all be exempt; so would
the cottager's grading and lawn or
garden improvements.
The first thing to do for good homes
as well as good times would seem to
be to increase the available supply of
land through increased taxes on all
sites worth owning and at the same
time abolish taxes on improvements.
The subsidy thus taken from land spec
u,3tion, the worker should find the get
ting and keeping Of comfortable
home with adequate ground around it
one of the simplest of his problems
The single tax is a simple and just
expedient capable Of establishment as
soon as the people see the point and
care enough to get good homes and
other good things to make the effort. It
ahould bring in its train a radical sim
plifieation Of many other problems, and
help greatly to make efforts for other
improvements reasonably hopeful and
efficient. These are reasons why beliv-
ers in the single tax urge for consid-
Grafton.