In Memoriam Henry George

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Henry George (September 2, 1839 – October 29, 1897) was an American economist best known for his work, Progress and Poverty, published in 1879. George spent his early days working as a typesetter and editor for several newspapers. After failing several attempts in seeking electoral office, George secured a political appointment as state gas meter inspector in 1876. This led to the development of his book Progress and Poverty which explores how poverty increases in proportion to increases in wealth. He posits that wealth earned from increases in land value belong not to land owners but to the American public. In an attempt to regulate this observed wealth disparity, George proposed the abolition of all taxes except for a single tax which would be applied only to unearned increases in the value of land. Progress and Poverty sold millions of copies were worldwide and was translated into many languages.