Progress.org | Economy, Society, and Nature

Is Trillion the New Billion?

Why It Matters:

The worth of Earth is not just another pretty number. It's proof that nature and markets love us.

Jeffery J. Smith

Our mission is to promote equitable and scientific ideas that practically support our evolving humanity. By recognizing the interconnectedness of all living things, Progress.org provides deep insight in the areas of economics, society, and nature to affirm a world that works for everyone.

Status Update, 2016: the real estate boom and bust

The real estate cycle continues, so we can benefit from seeing where we are on the timeline.

Fred Foldvary, Ph.D.

Does a Tax on Land Imply Not Owning the Land?

The objection to land-value taxation because it denies ownership is rebutted.

Fred Foldvary, Ph.D.

The Privatization of the Moon is Coming

Entry into commercial space travel could bring reduction in environmental damage costs, find new resources and unlimited related applications; productivity gains for next boom.

Type I Civilization Issues

How would advanced extraterrestrial beings view humanity? As humans, do we "come in peace?"

Markets: Getting Past the Debate

While there is a lot of discussion about whether to regulate markets or not, there is little talk about being outside of markets

Position: Social Media Manager

Progress.org has an opening for the volunteer position of Social Media Manager. Expected time investment would be around 5 hours a week.

Another Job Killer: Section 385

Yet another regulation is being proposed, to treat effects rather than cure the cause of capital flight.

Fred Foldvary, Ph.D.

Replace Minimum Wages with the Earned Income Tax Credit

Minimum wage laws have a superficial appeal, but are much less effectie than the earned income tax credit.

Fred Foldvary, Ph.D.

California’s Deforestation Project

Fears and mistaken ideas are about to create an environmental disaster in California.

Fred Foldvary, Ph.D.

U.S. Government Voiding the First Amendment

Freedom is lost when unintended offense prohibits expression.

Fred Foldvary, Ph.D.

The Conservation of the Laws of Science

Economics, like other sciences, does not change. The principles of prosperity are eternal.

Fred Foldvary, Ph.D.

Curious About Earth’s Worth? Pay Up!

One way to keep the curious ignorant is to raise the price for knowledge—until demand overwhelms gatekeepers.

Jeffery J. Smith

A Guide to the Economically Perplexed

People are puzzled by economic failure, but basic economics guides us to remedies.

Fred Foldvary, Ph.D.

Critics Want Other Stats: Why Not Rents?

There are successful groups using stats, churning out stats, and demanding better official stats. May their voices join ours.

Jeffery J. Smith

Earned Income and Unearned Income

Taxes distinguish between earned and unearned income, but tax definitions are different from economic meanings.

Fred Foldvary, Ph.D.

Defend the Alamo, Damn the Torpedoes, Mix the Metaphors

The quest to know the worth of Earth takes a rocky road with detours but we’re on it for the long haul.

Jeffery J. Smith

At This Tipping Point, Can We Back Off?

People have bigger problems than measuring the “rents”. Or do they?

Jeffery J. Smith

Unfinished Business

Until somebody measures the worth of Earth, many other issues must remain unresolved.

Jeffery J. Smith

When all your original strategies don’t pan out, better stop and take stock, figure out what went wrong and if anything can go right.

Jeffery J. Smith

Unreasoned Induction

The failure to understand logic is a major cause of violence.

Fred Foldvary, Ph.D.

All Creek, No Paddle

Is this the end of the line? Are there no more strategies for learning the worth of Earth? Has every stone been turned over?

Jeffery J. Smith

A tax on car milage?

A hidden purpose of proposals for vehicle distance taxes is the elimination of taxes on land value.

Fred Foldvary, Ph.D.

Principles of an Optimal Tax Policy

The principles of a good tax system point to land value taxation as optimal

Fred Foldvary, Ph.D.

Teach Natural Law

People often do evil thinking they are doing right, and that is why we need to teach natural law.

Fred Foldvary, Ph.D.

Review of Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, by John Perkins

Conspiracy arguments are always suspect, since they typically have plausibility but no compelling proof.

H. William Batt, Ph.D.

American Wealth and Real Estate

The economic data collected by the Federal Reserve includes real estate but leaves out the importance of land value and rent.

Fred Foldvary, Ph.D.

A New Model of the Economy, by Brian Hodgkinson

A New Model of the Economy presents a rational and clear theory of economic prosperity. I highly recommend it to anyone who wishes to gain an in-depth understanding of economics.

In the Belly of the Fed

Their silence and protestations of ignorance aside, logically, the Federal Reserve must know the value of US land.

Jeffery J. Smith

Privilege versus Detriment

When we call disadvantages “detriments,” the direction of reform can be clearer than when we speak of “privileges”.

Fred Foldvary, Ph.D.

Ruffling More Than Feathers

You think those seeking change might climb abord the quest to know Earth's worth?

Jeffery J. Smith

Land-Value Tax and the Timing of Development

Some environmentalists think that land-value taxation promotes too much development, but in fact LVT promotes an efficient use of land.

Fred Foldvary, Ph.D.

The Sales Tax: History of Its Fallen Champions

The sales tax has a long and fractured history. It doesn’t make sense to repeat it.

Mason Gaffney, Ph.D.

No Trespassing on Fields of Knowledge

Whether enclosing pastures or fields of knowledges, the legal enablers—patents and copyrights—generate fortunes, undue or not.

Jeffery J. Smith

Land Rent as a Tax

The taxes we pay can include some of the rent.

Fred Foldvary, Ph.D.

Utilities Monopolize Land

The prices you pay go up whenever monopolies get their way. Will prices still rise if technology does in monopolies?

Jeffery J. Smith

Removing Damages

Once we heal Earth, we not only heal ourselves but also enrich whoever ends up with the fatter rents for healed land.

Jeffery J. Smith

Apparel in Peril

A high minimum wage plus taxes are driving the textile industry out of California and the USA. A rent-sharing free market would increase both wages and employment.

Fred Foldvary, Ph.D.

Is a Sales Tax Voluntary?

Advocates of a national sales tax falsely claim that the tax is voluntary, and do not understand the implications.

Fred Foldvary, Ph.D.

Where Does Rent Come From?

Contrary to popular thought, the surplus of production is not wages or profits, but land rent.

Fred Foldvary, Ph.D.

Hobbes and Kaldor on Taxing Expenditure

The alternatives of taxing income versus spending is a fallacy of the excluded option.

Fred Foldvary, Ph.D.

What’s the Cost of America?

If there are reasons to be encouraged, to not foolishly feel hope, then you have to know them.

Jeffery J. Smith

Could a 137 Year-Old Equation Explain the Financial Collapse?

These days, only First Peoples hold to 'outdated' traditions: That land should be rented, not sold. We know better now, or so we think.

With the Help of Leaders

We have elected politicians to serve us. Here's chance to ask them to do their job in a very big way.

Jeffery J. Smith

Morality is the basis of proper governance.

Fred Foldvary, Ph.D.

When to Preserve? When to Develop?

Powerful people with limited values tell us losing pristine nature is good for us. How can we tell when it’s not?

Jeffery J. Smith

When Less Is Less

When public servants quit serving, to whom do you turn? Somebody out there must be the true answer man, eh?

Jeffery J. Smith

Real Estate 4 Ransom

Land is the most precious physical gift we have. “Real Estate for Ransom” shows how real estate speculation is responsible for the decline in culture and human society.

Wildlife Conservation

Economist Fred Harrison talks with conservationist Peter Smith about how the economy produces environmental disasters, and what solutions can create a environmental sustainability.

Make Prices Reward “Green” Choices

Target the most sensitive body part—the wallet. Make prices tell the truth. Earth as object of speculation? Not with geonomics.

Jeffery J. Smith

The Game of Monopoly versus Equopoly

The Monopoly game originated as an economic lesson, and still offers economic policy insights.

Fred Foldvary, Ph.D.

Up to My Own Best Guess

You can hear how much Earth is worth from somebody afraid of the answer or from one who's determined to tell the truth.

Jeffery J. Smith

City Density—Friend of Trip Efficiency

Cities cater to cars, not people. New fuels, motors, and modes of transport all pale beside fewer, shorter trips.

Jeffery J. Smith

Oshan Cook: A Call for Presidential Clemency

Seeking Presidential Clemency for Oshan Cook is not only the right thing to do—it’s a quick and easy task you can do right now.

Buildings Waste Energy. But We Tax’em!

You want efficient buildings yet you tax them—improving them raises their tax liability. How rational is that? Not very. So do something else!

Jeffery J. Smith

The Right to Arbitrarily Discriminate

Arbitrary discrimination is a social vice, but liberty requires freedom of association.

Fred Foldvary, Ph.D.

Land Worth = More than Enough

There is enough for all of us. But will we look in the right places?

Officials Guesstimate the Price of Non-Housed Lots

The US owns about 1/3 of America and from it raises revenue—enough for all Americans?

Jeffery J. Smith

It's possible to pay for public goods without taxation in substance.

Fred Foldvary, Ph.D.

At the Official Data Watering Holes

People tend to think an official stat is the answer. But is it? Is it accurate? Tainted by politics? Is the unofficial better?

Jeffery J. Smith

The Multiplier Myth

Economic growth depends on real investment, not more spending.

Fred Foldvary, Ph.D.

Land in Ancient Israel and Early Zionism

The ills of stratification and sectarianism can be alleviated when we acknowledge that land is under a jurisdiction that is more sacred than its commodification.

As Done by Academics

How much do we spend on nature? On land under our homes, on the farmland portion of our food, on the oil portion of our gasoline? Not even the pros are sure.

Jeffery J. Smith

Subsidies, Politics, and Pollution

Political turmoil has its roots in the unequal distribution of economic rent in Thailand and elsewhere.

Thugs Destroy Democracy

Disruptions of political campaigns destroy democracy.

Fred Foldvary, Ph.D.

Activism Goes Easier With Volunteers

Helping shift the paradigm, it happens faster—and feels good.

Jeffery J. Smith

Gets an A for Apolitical?

You want your information straight up, not massaged by the messengers POV.

Jeffery J. Smith

Diving Into Edited Data

Cutting-edge bloggers in recent years have published what they discoverd about how much we pay for Earth.

Jeffery J. Smith

The Mad Policy Hurting Bank Recovery

Why bank shares have been depressed and negative interest rates could lead to recessions.

Michigan’s Government Failure

Examples of government failure should make us think of why governments fail.

Fred Foldvary, Ph.D.

Arousing Powerful Resistance

Tallying Earth's worth is not simple addition. It's also strong opposition to subtle powers that be.

Jeffery J. Smith

Rising to the Challenge

Goethe: The moment you commit, then Providence moves too... Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.

Jeffery J. Smith

Zika and the Mentality of Control

Until we begin thinking in holistic terms, we will lurch from one enemy to the next, forever suppressing symptoms even as we worsen the disease.

Charles Eisenstein

How Land Barons, Industrialists, and Bankers Corrupted Economics

The so-called discipline of economics has been systematically corrupted in two major ways.

A guide can make your tour of unfamiliar terrain, a fresh field of knowledge, yield deep insights more quickly.

Jeffery J. Smith

Mass Democracy and its Discontents

The democratic process toay is inherently flawed.

Fred Foldvary, Ph.D.

A Calculation Equal to the Calendar?

The size of rent is enough to make you bowl over.

Jeffery J. Smith

Water Creates Rent

Subsidized water does not benefit us, because we pay in higher rent and land value.

Fred Foldvary, Ph.D.

What Discerning Savers Want to Know

Geonomists must keep in the mix and stay part of the conversation about new policies needed to make a better world.

Jeffery J. Smith

How to Restore Economic Growth

None of the candidates for office are discussing what would really make the economy grow.

Fred Foldvary, Ph.D.

Why Can’t Officials be Bothered?

Since officials refuse to tally up what the public has a right to know, maybe they have a good reason for sitting this one out.

Jeffery J. Smith

Organic Societies

Solutions resembling nature's organic patterns are needed to solve society's problems.

It Takes a Critical Mass to Answer the Call

A critical mass is created only when called into action by an advance scout alerted to an opportunity to make progress.

Jeffery J. Smith

Implied Consent

There is no implied consent in imposed government.

Fred Foldvary, Ph.D.

Keys to a Better World

This single datum, if widely known, could transform economies into the least problematic feature of society.

Jeffery J. Smith

Myths Exist to be Debunked

Anything worth hiding by the few must also be worth knowing by the many.

Jeffery J. Smith

An Integration of Ideas

The implementation of justice requires a combination of ideas on ethics, governance, and economics.

Fred Foldvary, Ph.D.

Present Trends Demand a Counting

Contradictions in American society increase the discomfort, leading to a tipping point; so many will want to know the worth of Earth, officials will have to add it up.

Jeffery J. Smith

Where’s a Good Conspiracy Theory When You Need One?

The best way to hide a treasure is to not let anyone know it exists.

Jeffery J. Smith

Knowledge is Power, You’d Think

Knowledge is always power, isn't it? The power to make life better for one and all. You'd think.

Jeffery J. Smith

The Data Vacuum

When data that is supposed to be public knowledge is not, it's good to know why. Official incompetence? Unawareness of relevance? What?

Jeffery J. Smith

On Objective Public Finance

Objectivists have not confronted the land issue, hence lack a coherent position on public finance.

Fred Foldvary, Ph.D.

Down All Your Markets

The recent down markets are temporary—the long run crash is what should concern us.

Fred Foldvary, Ph.D.

Is Trillion the New Billion?

The worth of Earth is not just another pretty number. It's proof that nature and markets love us.

Jeffery J. Smith

A Biopsy on an Economy

It's not just that economies cannot help but create a surplus. It's also that that abundance creates a lack—if not properly treated.

Jeffery J. Smith

The Internet Tax

Some U.S. Senators seek to terminate Internet Tax Freedom, which would stifle the benefits we have enjoyed.

Fred Foldvary, Ph.D.

American Exceptionalism

What makes America different affects policy and our lives.

Fred Foldvary, Ph.D.

Rights and Privileges

The Supreme Court ruled that rights may not be taxed. Therefore the right to engage in labor should not be taxed.

Fred Foldvary, Ph.D.

The Powerful Opponents to Geonomics Throughout History

If ever you are to win, you have to know whom you're up against—and what their Achilles’ Heel may be.

Jeffery J. Smith

Earth Sharing for a New Generation

Considering the sharing nature of younger generations, it seems likely that they would also want to embrace new economic policies for living together in community.

Critics Blind to Land

Both critics and fans of markets overlook what Adam Smith and others said about land.

Fred Foldvary, Ph.D.

Two Undeniable and Two Weak Arguments for a Land Value Tax

If you know anything about finance, you understand why land value taxation is an optimal hedge, even for real estate owners.

Tuure Parkkinen

Learned Libertarians Lean Toward Land Rents

Progressives alone won't win. It'll take an alliance with their erstwhile opponents, the libertarians, to win the most basic of all reforms—an income apart from our labor.

Jeffery J. Smith

Finland’s Basic Income

Finland is pioneering a basic income, but unless the source is land rent, the program will fail.

Fred Foldvary, Ph.D.

The Blindspot that has Plagued Humanity for Eons

One reason you don't know what to do is that your brain won't let you see the right choice for everyone.

Jeffery J. Smith

The Undemocratic Ballot Access

Costly ballot access stifles democracy.

Fred Foldvary, Ph.D.

Henry George in Favor of a Basic Income

The Basic Income is (finally) a hot topic these days. But what you didn’t know is that it has ancient roots. Land reformer Henry George was in favor of a basic income.

Tyrants Exploit Income Inequality

The inequality of wealth and income has become a meme loaded with danger.

Fred Foldvary, Ph.D.

Favors for a Group or Dividends for All?

To date, government has endowed landowners with very lucrative favors. What if we extended such largesse to everyone?

Jeffery J. Smith

Taxation by Citation

Excessive traffic fines create distrust between the police and the people. What’s needed is tax reform that eliminates the financial incentive for taxation by citation.

Fred Foldvary, Ph.D.

Why People Are Unemployed

Jobs are plentiful where land is, too. That is, where land and locations are affordable.

Jeffery J. Smith

The Transition to Land-Value Taxation

Opposition to land-value taxation is based on the transition, not on the long run.

Fred Foldvary, Ph.D.

The Implementation of Land-Value Taxation

Those interested in land-value taxation may want to know how to implement it.

Fred Foldvary, Ph.D.

Academics Against Academic Jargon

It's not just that you're kept from knowing what they know. It's also that bad writers means bad thinkers.

Jeffery J. Smith

Justice—Coming to a Nation Near You

Do tell me about a problem I can fix, and that is—before all heck breaks loose—how to hurry up social progress.

Jeffery J. Smith

The Ten Commandments of Geoism

It is the implementation of justice in the familiar form of the Ten Commandments.

Fred Foldvary, Ph.D.

Who Owns Your Nation?

“Those who own the country ought to govern it.” First Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court, John Jay. So, do you own your country? Enough of it to govern it? Or does someone else?

Jeffery J. Smith

More Energy, Less Waste

The carbon tax advocated by Bill Gates can limit climate-changing pollution, but it has to be on the emissions.

Fred Foldvary, Ph.D.

Kinetic Rent and Potential Rent

If we seek to estimate the total amount of rent that could be collected for public revenue, we need to include both the potential and the kinetic rent.

Fred Foldvary, Ph.D.

Marginal-Cost Pricing

Marginal cost pricing solves problems such as traffic congestion.

Fred Foldvary, Ph.D.

Intervention Denial

Intervention denial is one of the most destructive memes in the mental universe, because intervention denial blocks effective solutions to social problems.

Fred Foldvary, Ph.D.

Curbing Climate Change Justly

The knee-jerk ideas won't suffice. Big problems need big solutions—powerful, big-picture solutions. Like geonomics.

Jeffery J. Smith

Is US Inflation Too Low?

The Fed continues to keep interest rates low on a mistaken belief about inflation.

Fred Foldvary, Ph.D.

Economic Indicators Point You Away From What Matters

If you use official statistics to argue your case or guide your investments, you do know better data exist elsewhere, right?

Jeffery J. Smith

Real Estate USA 2015

The real estate cycle is on track for the next crash.

Fred Foldvary, Ph.D.

Take “The Donald” Seriously? Yes, and Here’s Why.

The Donald built his empire on other people’s money. Yet when he failed, he bailed—leaving other people high and dry. Now, he’s come back for more.

Phil J. Anderson

Are Pessimists Right? Or is Optimism Warranted?

The human brain easily sees problems but is not hardwired to instantly recognize solutions. One must think, not just react. Can we pull it off?

Jeffery J. Smith

Strategy for Tax Reform: Convert the Chiefs

Attempts to educate the public have not been sufficient to achieve reform.

Fred Foldvary, Ph.D.

Nature’s Droughts Reined in by Natural Law

People worsen droughts, yet we could avoid them and keep the food coming from dry regions sustainably.

Jeffery J. Smith

Top 5 Ways to Fight Pollution

Fighting pollution and many of the world’s other seemingly intractable problems requires operating with a greater awareness of the policy issues that can make the most difference.

Jacob Shwartz-Lucas

The Siberian Solution for Refugees

Europe has not solved its refugee problem. Siberia could offer a potential solution.

Fred Foldvary, Ph.D.

The Real Rebirth of the American Economy Starts Now

The recovery so far has really only got us back to the starting blocks. The race will start now, and run into the middle of the next decade.

The Tyranny of Billionaire Monopolists

Critics of markets lack an understanding of truly free markets.

Fred Foldvary, Ph.D.

History is Just Another Word for Land Speculation

It's always good to know your roots, to know what you're up against, to know what to keep and what to change.

Jeffery J. Smith

Riding the Upswing of the Real Estate Cycle: 2012 - 2022

We need to understand the real estate cycle to prevent the next depression.

Fred Foldvary, Ph.D.

Inflation: Prices Up, Our Equilibrium Down

Inflation makes people feel passive, as if the economy were beyond humanity's power of correction, so why bother making it work right for everyone?

Jeffery J. Smith

There Will Always Be Labor

Technology will not eradicate, but rather transform, labor.

Fred Foldvary, Ph.D.

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