Our primary forms of taxation should be based on what is taken from the commons, in the form of occupying choice land, mining non-renewable resources, polluting the environment, using our scarce airwaves, etc.. These are some pretty awesome tax bases, if only we’d put some attention to measuring them. Many of those who are winners in our current system don’t particularly want us to put attention to measuring their magnitude; they like the current system just fine, thank you! (Sort of a Brer Rabbit approach, one might say.)

Once we’ve fully tapped these tax bases, if we still need more revenue, then we might directly tax the incomes of those who receive the very highest incomes. But we must not neglect these taxbases. We will all benefit in the process, through sinincreased opportunities, through the removal of perverse incentives, and in increased access to the sites which can be most effectively used for the business plans that float in entrepreneuri al minds, thwarted primarily by the lack of necessary sites.

What are the private equity firms buying? Hotels. Real estate. Prime real estate. They aren’t looking to make money from being hotelkeepers. They are looking for gains from appreciation of fabulous sites, made fabulous by our common investment in infrastructure and services — and pork.

See http://www.wealthandwant.com/ for more context.