Home Summary Table of Contents Read Chapter One Online How to Order About the Author For Speaking Engagements Book Reviewers Only Objections and Answers Donations Your Questions or Comments Humor Protecting the Environment Truly Helping the Poor

Here's How to REALLY Help the Poor Many people sincerely wish to help the poor, but without applying equal rights to the economy, they won't succeed. They might subsidize poverty with welfare programs and government handouts, but such subsidization is not likely to get rid of poverty. If we want to really help the poor and not give them mere lip-service, we would tax locations rather than production, as more fully described in Society at the Crossroads. 1. Most people (but especially the poor) would get big tax reductions if locations were taxed rather than production. That's because most people own very little land value (if the poor owned much land value, they wouldn't be poor). 2. Most production taxes reduce the income of poor people. Corporations pass on their taxes to consumers, some of whom are poor, in the form of higher prices. Income taxes are paid chiefly by the well-off, but they also pass on their taxes to consumers (for instance, doctors charge more because they have to pay taxes [inducing us to subsidize medical expenses!]). Sales taxes in particular raise prices and make it more expensive to be poor. But perhaps the worst tax of all is the social-security payroll tax on wages, which is the chief tax poor people directly pay (when we tax jobs, there'll be fewer of them). 3. If we tax production rather than locations, less will be produced, enhancing poverty. Not only that, but by hobbling the economy, there'll be fewer jobs and less economic opportunity for poor people. For a fuller discussion on how to tax locations rather than production in the foreseeable future, read Society at the Crossroads. Even more fundamental social problems are discussed and solved in this book. Read the first chapter for free!