Henry George Quotes
There are three ways by which an individual can get wealth—by work, by gift, and by theft. And, clearly, the reason why the workers get so little is that the beggars and thieves get so much.
Henry George, 1839-1897, Political economist, Unsuccessful Candidate for New York Mayor, Social Problems, 1883
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
The States sold bonds to finance the Revolutionary War. Some states had better prospects for redeeming their bonds than others. Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina in particular had poorer prospects than most and their bonds were selling at about 25 cents on the dollar. Alexander Hamilton, then the Secretary of the Treasury, wanted the new Federal government to assume the state’s war debt and pay off the bonds. He made his proposal for how he would accomplish this on January 14, 1790. He delivered his report and proposal to Congress “Report on the Public Credit”. As soon as Hamilton’s proposal was read in Congress, sophisticated speculators set off for the Southern States to buy up as many bonds as they could before the owners found out that a Federal bail-out was under serious consideration. They could easily double, triple or even quadruple their money. To Jackson this was gross immorality. Other representatives had a different point of view. See {619928} & {619929}.
One dramatic example of this principle is that India at the end of the 20th century had more billionaires than the United States did.
The argument here is that since the poor working class wages are so low, that they cannot save for an emergency, therefore the society must provide for welfare for those who might otherwise starve.
See {34743} or {33971} for a more colorful and eloquent statement of the same notion.
Henry George was an American political economist and journalist. His writing was immensely popular in 19th-century America and sparked several reform movements of the Progressive Era. He inspired the economic philosophy known as Georgism, the belief that people should own the value they produce themselves, but that the economic value derived from land (including natural resources) should belong equally to all members of society. He argued that a single tax on land would create a more productive, more just society.
