Today’s discussion comes from our most recent annual conference “Existential Crises: Is the Georgist Paradigm Part of the Solution?” and was recorded in July of 2024. For the next three weeks, our discussions will revolve around the polycrisis afflicting the globe with four subtopics. The first will be the four most important crises, followed by how Georgism can alleviate these crises, which will then be followed by how to make Georgism more politically palatable, and will conclude by discussing different Georgist policy solutions.
Today’s panelist is part of our third panel, “Recalibrating the Advocacy of Georgism.” Our speaker for this episode is Dr. Dirk Löhr.
Dr. Löhr is a professor of Taxation and Ecological Economics at the Trier University of Applied Sciences and an Associate Professor at Ruhr-University in Bochum, Germany. His career spans both academic and practical roles, including work as a tax adviser, lecturer at the Center for Urban and Real Estate Management in Switzerland, and consultant for German International Cooperation (GIZ) in Cambodia. Dr. Löhr has also held key management positions within the Deutsche Bahn AG, which is a German railroad company. He also currently serves as president of the Association of Social Sciences, a research institution that conducts studies on infrastructure. Dr. Löhr extensive academic contributions include publications on business economics, land taxation, and environmental economics.
Dr. Löhr discussed why liberals and conservatives tend to get tax policy wrong, the difference between taxes and contributions in Germany, and how land value taxes can reorient revenue to better pay for redistributive policies.