Reaping What Others Sow

The "others" might be individuals, but more frequently, "others" is the community as a whole. Why should some of us be permitted to privatize that which we all create together? Is that the definition of a meritocracy: smart guys win, even if it is by stealing — legally! — from the community?

Why should some grandchildren reap the increases in land value on property their grandparents bought? Their grandparents didn't create that land value: the community around them did. The community is entitled to that economic value. The estate tax takes a small fraction of it. Capital gains taxes take a small portion of it. Property taxes take a tiny fraction of it. But the bulk of it is left in the pockets of the lucky grandchildren, just as if their grandparents had actually contributed more than others did to that land value. A very impolite fiction!