The 33rd North American Conference of the
Council of Georgist Organizations

Tuesday, August 6 to Saturday Morning, August 10, 2013
at the Holiday Inn Pittburgh Airport

Our Previous Conferences  Centennial Celebration and Mourning 1913: It was the best of years, it was the worst of years. It was the year of Pittsburgh’s land value tax; it was the year of the United States’s income tax. It was the year of the first US Georgist victory; it was the year of the greatest Georgist Schism. Come to Pittsburgh to celebrate 100 years of land value tax in Pennsylvania, and to mourn 100 years of income tax that was supposed to fall only on rental income. For rates and reservation information, please CLICK HERE Schedule Tuesday, August 6th    Pre-Conference Georgist Education Workshop, 2-5 PM Expanding on the vital, yet oft-ignored, influence of land policy in US history: Ed Dodson. Preserving farmland through farm heritage trusts, and opportunities for alliance with Georgists: Bob Jene. Recent enhancements to Henry George’s theory of the boom/bust cycle that help to explain current phenomena: Mike Curtis and Lindy Davies Making Georgist curricula more compatible with mainstream economics without compromising its main ideas: Lindy Davies    Welcoming Reception, 7:30-9 PM Welcome by Dan Sullivan, CGO President and local host Historical Voices on Land: a readers’ theater presentation by Ed Dodson and friends. Wednesday, August 7th 8-8:15 AM    Open Mike 8:15 - 9:45    Pittsburgh's Land Tax History From the scandals that led to reform to the assessment scandal that destroyed it: Dan Sullivan. 10:15 - 11:45 Pittsburgh’s 1989 Tax Swap Hearing Video and discussion of the landmark hearing on replacing the wage tax with LVT. Noon - 12:45    Lunch -- CGO Member Reports after we dine 1 - 2:30    Experiences with LVT and Pennsylvania’s Assessments Describing LVT's effects in Clairton, Aliquippa, and Washington, PA. With Richard Lattanzi, Mayor of Clairton, and other invited leaders. 3 - 4:30    The Politics of Assessing Ted Gwartney, Mike Curtis, Bill Batt and invited local assessors and officials. 5-7    Dinner on your Own -- Oreganizational dinner meetings 7:00 - 8:30    A Hundred Years of Georgist Songs Performances and sing-alongs of historical Georgist songs, parodies and new songs. Collected by Paul Justus. Thursday, August 8th 8 - 8:15    Open Mike 8:30 - 10    How the 1913 Income Tax Divided the Georgist Movement Drawn from Georgist history doctoral thesis work: Historian Alex Wagner Lough. 10:15 - 11:45    The Commons Movement: A Civil Right to the Commons Greg Pace; Pittsburgh’s Campaign to Reclaim the Commons: Paul O’Hanlon; Host, Alanna Hartzok. Noon - 1    Lunch -- CGO Member Reports after we dine 1:15-(approximately) 6:45    Bus Tour: A Grand View of Pittsburgh alook at how land value tax has affected the city; Heinz History Museum Tour: How the Washington family’s illegal land speculation started the French and Indian War; Dinner at the Spaghetti Warehouse. Friday, August 9th 8:30 - 9:30    CGO Business Meeting 9:30 - 10:45    Technology for Movement-Building The "Why" session: what’s been done and why it’s important: Jacob Shwartz-Lucas and Ed Miller. 11:00 - Noon    Introducing our Vision to Average Communities Frank De Jong; Personal experiences welcome. 12:15 - 1:15    Lunch -- CGO Member Reports after we dine 1:30 - 3    Transportation and Land Value The Transit Crisis in Allegheny County: Helen Gerhardt, Pittsburghers for Public Transit, Transportation and Investment: Chris Sandvig, Pittsburgh Community Reinvesment Group, London’s Jubilee Line: Ted Gwartney, Profits from the DC Metro: Rick Rybeck. 3:15 - 4:45    Social Media Workshop The "How" session: hands-on help with latest tools. Bring your laptop! 7 - 9    Gala Banquet - Speaker: Josh Vincent Advancing LVT through Collaboration and Team Building Saturday, August 10th 9 - 10:15    Subway-stop Taxpayer Lots in New York City Public-funding windfalls in the Big Apple, and crafting a muckraking presentation: Lindy Davies. 10:30 - Noon    Farewell Brunch Toasts & Farewells The Law of Rent never changes, but our schedule may - without notice. Contacts: Scott & Sue Walton, conference administrators PO Box 57, Evanston IL 60204 Phone: 888/262-9015 toll free in the USA or 847/475-0391 e-mail: sns@swwalton.com Back to the Council of Georgist Organizations main page