Instituto Henry George - Noticias

14th, 15th, 16th & 17th CE Economics Courses Graduate
Managua, July 31, 2003

The Instituto Henry George's 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th intensive "Comprender la Economía" political economy courses graduated a total of 109 students on February 26th, April 9th, June 4th, and July 30th respectively. Click here for complete "Comprender La Economía" Course Statistics, 2000-2003. Enrollment of the XVI May course reached an all time low of 34 but was up again in the XVII July course to 42 due to the change to a much improved location, the Universidad Autónoma Nacional de Nicaragua (UNAN RUCFA), which offers central public transportation access and much more attractive physical conditions than did the previous location. Student recruitment opportunities at the UNAN may bring CE enrollments back up to the 80 to 100 range. IHG has three more CE courses pending for 2003. The XVIII CE course is scheduled to begin September 1st.

Nicaraguan "Nueva Era": Private Monopolies & Taxes, Taxes, Taxes
Managua, Julio 31, 2003

The Nicaraguan Government strategy (dictated by the World Bank, IMF, and US Government) to develop the Nicaraguan economy has been to wage a superficial "war on corruption", permit the privatization of all natural monopolies (public utilities and natural resource), and burden private business and consumers with a complicated panoply of intrusive anti-productive taxes on labor, savings, production and investment. This strategy, designed by and for foreign interests and their elite national co-conspirators to favor the concentration of wealth for a land-owning minority, is accelerating the headlong plunge of the majority of the population into economic ruin (bankruptcy, loss of property, forced emigration) and social desperation (violence, addiction, family disintegration, prostitution, illiteracy, supersitition, inequality).

Every day, the newspapers report a series of barbarous acts of civil and domestic violence, violations of human rights by government and large private interests (e.g., running people off their ancestral lands), gross negligence in public administration which permits private monopolies and semi-monopolies free-run over defenseless consumers (e.g., monopoly charges of basic services, wholesale theft of natural resources, etc.), and the endless reports on the new taxes which extend deeper and deeper into the pockets of the average Nicaraguan worker/business owner at an increasing cost of collection to the government. On the one hand, there are full page government-paid ads showing how Nicaragua is progressing with loaned/donated funds and the investment of international megacorporations, and then dozens of stories depicting the humiliating conditions to which the population must adapt (and conditioning the population to believe that they are the problem). Like a chapter out of Henry George's Progress and Poverty, national and international economic "experts" attribute the deteriorating socio-economic situation to a lack of "capital" investment and a growing "excess of population".

In response, there is an organized and growing consumer movement which is becoming aware that they are the only realistic defense for the population against the economic rape and pillage of their country. IHG has acted as a messenger to orient this movement towards an ideology which reveals the real basis of the struggle: ownership of land rents. The IHG will continue to communicate and teach all interested groups and individuals that the solution to the growing economic crisis is to nationalize all land rents and privatize production via a single Land Value Tax - LVT (Impuesto sobre el Valor de la Tierra - IVT).

Here is a summary of some of the probable projects which, with ongoing international collaboration, will be initiated by the IHG in Nicaragua in 2003.

Due to the successful development of a documented standardized teaching method, advances in CE course visuals, and incorporation of modern projection technology, the IHG will soon be able to offer the Comprender La Economía course in various workshop formats to small groups of Nicaraguan leaders including: business owners, religous leaders, NGO directors, news reporters, Economic advisors, government officials, etc. The IHG will also offer a weekend workshop to foreign Spanish language students attending the Nicaragua Spanish Schools program in Nicaragua.

The IHG produced its first "Comprender La Economía" prototype video showing the summary of the course argument using the course visuals. The tecnically basic prototype video is the first step in producing a series of professional quality videos which will be distributed for viewing and used for workshops throughout Nicaragua. The video was shown at the CGO conference in Bridgeport CT this month and was donated to the Henry George School of NY.

IHG has been invited to produce a weekly television program to be broadcast to the Managua audience from Channel 37. The show would be taped before a live audience of CE graduates. The format would be varied including an interactive classroom setting, an inside and outside news segment, interviews, contests, etc. Production is in its intial phase of negotiation and is dependent upon subsequent funding.

IHG received a proposal for a visit from a London based documentary film company which would investigate the possible production of film documentary about Nicaragua's economic situation which would be for transmission on the BBC in the UK. This project will be negotiated to include the incorporation of the Georgist analysis and remedy in its theme.

Past, present, and future IHG collaborators Michael Hudson (proposes documentary project), Paul Martin (IHG Director), Jeff Smith (former IHG volunteer) and Dan Sullivan (proposes educational delegation).

Matt Harris and Joshua Vincent expressed interest in visting Nicaragua to facilitate a land use survey using GIS mapping technology.

During the Counsel of Georgist Organization Conference in Bridgeport CT. USA this month (July), some notable Georgists expressed interest in visiting Nicaragua to participate in observation, assessment advising, educational exchange and training, etc. This would coincide with the incipient relationship between IHG and the Universidad Autónoma de Nicaragua (UNAN), Facultad de Ciencias Económicas which has been established to facilitate such interaction, and would open opportunities for educational dialogue with leaders in various sectors of Nicaraguan society as well as national press coverage. (Interested Georgist leaders are encouraged to contact IHG about opportunities to join in these initiatives.)

"Work with passion, have fun, save the world!"
"Trabajar con pasión, divertirse, salvar el mundo!"

NOTICIAS, July 2003