Please join us for "This Land is Your Land", a salon taking place on
Monday evening May 21 from 6:00 to 8:30PM at the Sanctuary for
Independent Media, 3361 Sixth Ave. in Troy. See directions below. Food
will be available. But feel free to bring a beverage or a snack to add
the collective wealth if you are so inclined.

Can nature be privately owned? There's a moral viewpoint that says the
answer is "not really" and that viewpoint is the central principle of
Georgist Economics. What? You've never heard of Georgist Economics?!?
Tax economist and prominent Georgist Bill Batt, Ph.D. will be on hand
to illucidate the powerful and practical ideas that emerge from this
simple moral principle, a principle that large private land owners
have been shouting down, with great success, for more than 100 years.

For a sample of the practical potential of this principle consider the
case of Harrisburg, PA as described in this snippet from the Morning
Star, Oct. 12, 2005:

In 1982, Harrisburg, with a population of 52,000, was listed
as the second most run-down city in the US after East St Louis.

Since then, empty sites and buildings have been re-developed with
the number of vacant sites cut by 85 per cent and the city
authorities have issued 32,294 building permits, representing
nearly $4 billion of new investment. In 2004 alone 1,865 were
issued.

The number of businesses has jumped from 1,908 to 8,864. And over
5,000 housing units have been newly constructed or rehabilitated.
Meanwhile, unemployment has fallen by 19 per cent.

And this happened in a city where 47% of the property is tax exempt!
It's also starting to happen in 20 other cities in Pennsylvania and in
cities across the country, including Rochester, NY.

Get the full story and find out how we could produce similar results
in Troy and elsewhere in our region.

Directions:

By any route you like, get onto River Street heading North from
downtown Troy. From the Route 7 overpass proceed 1 mile to 101st
Street (St. Basil's Church will be on your left and Kennedy's Fried
Chicken will be on your right). Turn right, go 1 block to a traffic
light, turn right again. The Sanctuary, an old wooden church, is the
fourth building on your right. There should be more than adequate
street parking. If you get lost call me on my cell phone at 526-6615.