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If you show up at the tax assessor's office with a check for more than the self-reported value of my home, realistically plus the premium the government pays in

If you show up at the tax assessor's office with a check for more than the self-reported value of my home, realistically plus the premium the government pays in eminent domain cases, you get the title. That idea is pretty much "eminent domain for all."

BobaFloutist 2y ago
That seems really annoying to deal with. It's possible it would lead to a better society eventually, but in the short term I'd rather speculators not buy my shitbox car out from under me because they spotted the chip shortage before I did.
- whatshisface 2y ago
  It might not be so bad if you were allowed to accept an increase in your tax assessment rather than selling at the new price.
  - JumpCrisscross 2y ago
    > might not be so bad if you were allowed to accept an increase in your tax assessment rather than selling at the new price Sounds like a bonanza for developers.
    - whatshisface 2y ago
      I think that's the point, to free up all the economic activity that's being held up by patents, copyright and land underuse, and to get fair tax assessment on assets previously exempt from property taxes as a bonus.
      - JumpCrisscross 2y ago
        I don't see how this has anything to do with patents or copyright. Presumably, those would be subject to this seizure mechanism and thus flow to those most willing to enforce their claims. Like, 99% of the activity under such a mechanism would be transfers of financial assets.
        lotsofpulp 2y ago
        A power law land value tax would take care of most of the problem at almost no cost (since land is assessed regularly anyway). This should completely replace income tax. Copyright terms should also be 10 years, maybe 15 max. Patents could probably stay as is, but I don’t see any problem reducing them too.
        JumpCrisscross 2y ago
        > power law land value tax would take care of most of the problem at almost no cost (since land is assessed regularly anyway) Sure. This is a totally different proposal. Would note that you could go a long way to making this proposal electorally appealing by exempting primary residences. (In my experience, the assessed value of a home is at best loosely related to its market value.)
        lotsofpulp 2y ago
        It would be electorally appealing, but would fail at one of the main benefits. The number one waste of space in the US is people’s excessively large footprint, causing enormous consumption of energy and infrastructure costs that are borne by future generations. All these detached single family homes on 0.1+ acre lots are massively expensive and the people living in them hardly pay taxes proportionate to the benefit they receive from the government. Instead, our society takes from the working class via income tax. If you want to live in a detached home on a large lot, be ready to pay the appropriate land value taxes. If you want to conserve and use less of society’s resources, live in an apartment building. Since the tax formula would be a power law function, it would inherently not be punitive to the vast majority of Americans who don’t live on outsize plots of land.
        JumpCrisscross 2y ago
        > number one waste of space in the US is people’s excessively large footprint Massively needing a source. > it would inherently not be punitive to the vast majority of Americans who don’t live on outsize plots of land DOA. Partly due to the electoral college. Partly due to American optimism and aspiration. Perfect is the enemy of the good.
      - throwway120385 2y ago
        The unstated assumption here is that efficiency is the most important thing, rather than any of a number of other things we could value like stability, security, safety, reliability, and so on. The problem with efficiency-driven ideas is that they almost always will result in a bunch of people with money descending on a bunch of people without money and exploiting the difference to...make money.
jermaustin1 2y ago
This is terrible. I don't want to loose a priceless family heirloom (grandma's Sheraton-style rocking chair from 1890s) just because someone wants it and can write a check for $1 more than the assessed value. That discounts sentimental value. And if I now have to declare sentimental value and pay taxes on it, I'd rather burn it to the ground (grandma would approve).
- whatshisface 2y ago
  A lot of people hate eminent domain too, for that exact reason. I think libertarians want to get rid of it entirely because it's an involuntary transaction.
  - lotsofpulp 2y ago
    Not being born to a grandma who could afford a life stable enough to preserve and pass down such a chair is also an involuntary transaction, but libertarians don’t seem to talk about that.
  - JamesBarney 2y ago
    Yeah eminently domain isn't great. But also it's better than the alternative which is having a country without roads.

BobaFloutist 2y ago

That seems really annoying to deal with. It's possible it would lead to a better society eventually, but in the short term I'd rather speculators not buy my shitbox car out from under me because they spotted the chip shortage before I did.

whatshisface 2y ago
It might not be so bad if you were allowed to accept an increase in your tax assessment rather than selling at the new price.
- JumpCrisscross 2y ago
  > might not be so bad if you were allowed to accept an increase in your tax assessment rather than selling at the new price Sounds like a bonanza for developers.
  - whatshisface 2y ago
    I think that's the point, to free up all the economic activity that's being held up by patents, copyright and land underuse, and to get fair tax assessment on assets previously exempt from property taxes as a bonus.
    - JumpCrisscross 2y ago
      I don't see how this has anything to do with patents or copyright. Presumably, those would be subject to this seizure mechanism and thus flow to those most willing to enforce their claims. Like, 99% of the activity under such a mechanism would be transfers of financial assets.
      - lotsofpulp 2y ago
        A power law land value tax would take care of most of the problem at almost no cost (since land is assessed regularly anyway). This should completely replace income tax. Copyright terms should also be 10 years, maybe 15 max. Patents could probably stay as is, but I don’t see any problem reducing them too.
        JumpCrisscross 2y ago
        > power law land value tax would take care of most of the problem at almost no cost (since land is assessed regularly anyway) Sure. This is a totally different proposal. Would note that you could go a long way to making this proposal electorally appealing by exempting primary residences. (In my experience, the assessed value of a home is at best loosely related to its market value.)
        lotsofpulp 2y ago
        It would be electorally appealing, but would fail at one of the main benefits. The number one waste of space in the US is people’s excessively large footprint, causing enormous consumption of energy and infrastructure costs that are borne by future generations. All these detached single family homes on 0.1+ acre lots are massively expensive and the people living in them hardly pay taxes proportionate to the benefit they receive from the government. Instead, our society takes from the working class via income tax. If you want to live in a detached home on a large lot, be ready to pay the appropriate land value taxes. If you want to conserve and use less of society’s resources, live in an apartment building. Since the tax formula would be a power law function, it would inherently not be punitive to the vast majority of Americans who don’t live on outsize plots of land.
        JumpCrisscross 2y ago
        > number one waste of space in the US is people’s excessively large footprint Massively needing a source. > it would inherently not be punitive to the vast majority of Americans who don’t live on outsize plots of land DOA. Partly due to the electoral college. Partly due to American optimism and aspiration. Perfect is the enemy of the good.
    - throwway120385 2y ago
      The unstated assumption here is that efficiency is the most important thing, rather than any of a number of other things we could value like stability, security, safety, reliability, and so on. The problem with efficiency-driven ideas is that they almost always will result in a bunch of people with money descending on a bunch of people without money and exploiting the difference to...make money.

jermaustin1 2y ago

This is terrible. I don't want to loose a priceless family heirloom (grandma's Sheraton-style rocking chair from 1890s) just because someone wants it and can write a check for $1 more than the assessed value. That discounts sentimental value. And if I now have to declare sentimental value and pay taxes on it, I'd rather burn it to the ground (grandma would approve).

whatshisface 2y ago
A lot of people hate eminent domain too, for that exact reason. I think libertarians want to get rid of it entirely because it's an involuntary transaction.
- lotsofpulp 2y ago
  Not being born to a grandma who could afford a life stable enough to preserve and pass down such a chair is also an involuntary transaction, but libertarians don’t seem to talk about that.
- JamesBarney 2y ago
  Yeah eminently domain isn't great. But also it's better than the alternative which is having a country without roads.