Re-solving the Economic Puzzle

Overview

A proactive plan against a failing economy

Pinpointing a flaw in prevailing economic practices that explains why so many families in the richest nation on earth are mired in poverty, homelessness, joblessness, and hunger, this study suggests that a reform is available to correct this flaw that is corroding the enterprise system. This flaw is widely accepted and enshrined in law; certain taxation and land policies enable a powerful few to skim off a large share of the wealth created by the mass of citizens. How this injustice plays a major role in generating destructive boom and bust cycles is important, but the overprivileged who benefit from “legalized theft” are not vilified. Rather, the book calls for correcting the public policies that make slum ownership, land speculation, and other forms of parasitic and exploitive behavior more profitable than honest labor and productive enterprise. Accounts of places in the United States and elsewhere that are applying the proposed reform are presented, proving that it is politically feasible, and offers an ethical cleansing of the economy so that all people can enjoy all the fruits of their efforts.

Reviews

"Commitment and competence characterize Walter Rybeck’s life-long effort to promote the common good through creative application of land taxation policies." —William J. Byron, S. J., professor of business and society, St. Joseph’s University–Philadelphia

"The story of how coal, oil, and timber became a curse to Appalachia because these resources attracted exploiters who left the bulk of mountain people in poverty." —Ken Hechler, former White House assistant to President Truman, U. S. Congressman, West Virginia Secretary of State, and author, The Bridge at Remagen

"The author shows how the system he advocates would lead to more jobs, affordable housing for all, better schools and infrastructure, an end to urban sprawl, improved transportation and greater efficiency, as well as stopping tax evasion." —New Classics (March 2011)

Author Biography

Walter Rybeck is a contributor to the book Land-Value Taxation Around the World and the director of the Center for Public Dialogue. He is the former assistant director of the National Commission on Urban Problems and a former assistant to both Congressmen Henry S. Reuss of Milwaukee and William S. Coyne of Pittsburgh. He lives in Silver Spring, Maryland.