[redahs]

Inequality in land ownership has been continuously increasing in the United States since the 1930s. Higher property tax rates on land ownership are needed to reverse it, as well as the elimination of property tax exemptions which the owners of non-profits, private forests, golf courses, etc are currently receiving.

[zip1234]

Why is it a problem that those people are buying more land? If anything, a single owner that doesn't need the land for economic purposes can protect it much better than a bunch of individual people. My point is that people assume automatically that this is bad and must be stopped. Maybe it is good?

[francisofascii]

It is morally wrong to buy up tons of land, then forbid others to walk across it. Land should be for everyone, not just for a select few, especially since land was not created by the owner.

[conanbatt]

All land owners could forbid others from walking across, that is indifferent if you have 1 land-owner or a million. That's the origin of rent: becoming a land-owner makes you one of the forbidders.

[zip1234]

In the UK, there are public byways and footpaths, which allow a specific right of way through private land. Often times it is a path through a farmer's field or such. The US could establish similar rules.

[clarkevans]

Concentrated ownership is power. Power tends to corrupt.

[grasshopperpurp]

Yes, accountability and balance are the main issues. Hoping people will be good doesn't tend to work out well.

[conanbatt]

Yeah but also..there are no scaling benefits in owning really lots of land. It doesnt get easier to manage. And it is impossible to buy up all the land as the last piece of land would be worth infinity.

Im not sure what's going on, I'd like a more nuanced analysis.

[tomcam]

Wait, if you want people on the lower end of the economic scale to own land, why would you want to punish them with higher property taxes?

[Sabinus]

Larger areas of land with high value are taxed more. Low socioeconomic people don't put mansions on large estates.

[dsfyu404ed]

Screw that. I know people who have to keep working in their retirement because of their property taxes. If you're gonna tax land it should be proportional to how developed that land is. You shouldn't be taxed off of your land because you bought it 40yr ago before it was valuable.

[CPUstring]

Good question. It should be a progressive tax