I am fascinated by John C. Medaille's allegation that "MacArthur was a  
Georgist", and that his "demands" helped promote reform in Taiwan. I do not  
deny or confirm it; I'd like to learn more about it.  
  
Mac was a complex person. One thing clear is he wanted to be President, and  
to that end when running Japan he sought to offset his prior reputation that  
stemmed in part from his brutal repression of the bonus marchers in  
Washington, D.C., 1931 or 1932. To reform the tax system he brought in Carl  
Shoup from Columbia, and Shoup brought along Bill Vickrey. They created a  
model income tax system, which is better than the one we have at home, but  
still not quite a Georgist ideal. They or others in Mac's entourage beefed  
up local governments' power to tax property, but I am not aware that they  
exempted improvements, as a Georgist would.  
  
Japan, of course, had a history of heavy land taxation, dating from the  
Meiji Restoration, so what Mac did was not a heavy cultural shock.  
  
My big question about Mac as a Georgist is about the Philippines, where he  
exerted strong influence over long periods, and where I believe he owned  
considerable lands. There was no land or tax reform there.  
  
Enlightenment gratefully received.  
  
Mason Gaffney