Dear James: I agree fully with your assessment of the Georgists' motivations. I said pretty much the same thing in my initial post. But I don't see the point in responding directly to the question about what kind of tax would be best. I have already given the broad answer that the best kind of tax is one that taxes consumer surplus. But to respond in the way that I think you want, I would have to say something about sales taxes, income taxes, or the like. All taxes, including these, affect entrepreneurship, as I have said -- and as everyone but the Georgists seem to know. But the issue in the discussion is not about this. The issue, in its initial form or in Larry's disguise, is about whether the land value tax or land rental tax affects entrepreneurship. There is another related issue that I have been avoiding, however. It is the claim implicit in Larry's post relating to taxing on the basis of elasticities of supply. To deal with this would take me very deeply into Davenport's competitive entrepreneurship approach to price and value, which differs categorically from the Marshallian approach that we all have imprinted on our brains. It is enough at the moment to present Davenport's criticism of George. But perhaps you have not been paying close attention to this. Best wishes, Pat Gunning