There was a wise comment to a blog post on The Economist’s website today:

Potential growth: Forever poorer? | The Economist.

Speaking of growth, how about abolishing taxes on income and capital, and replacing it with a flat, albeit hefty, tax on land (or rents more generally) - the Henry George argument of several ages ago?

No real estate bubbles…

A highly competitive tax system…

Less idle housing, urban sprawl, or massive ghettos due to sky-rocketing rents…

No. We’ll be back in this position again in 20 years time, just as the US was in 1798, 1819, 1837, 1857, 1873, 1893, 1907, 1929, 1973, 1990, 2008 (i.e. depressions preceded by massive real estate bubbles OR speculation on natural resources (silver or copper)).

Back onto our rent-seeking activities we go.