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Remote work multiplies buildable land
Ownership and Citizenship
America has always run on ownership. The founders expected a democratic republic to survive because most Americans were independent farmers who owned their land, and owning taught citizenship. A farmer weighing a new bridge against a higher tax bill is learning to calculate what he wants to happen.
Rebuilding the Engine
Each era rebuilt that engine. The Homestead Act gave free land to anyone who lived on a farm for five years, while land grants to railroads built the transcontinental lines that turned the country into a national market. When family farms stopped being able to compete, the single-family home in the suburbs replaced the single-family farm. Freeways, highways, and tax-free municipal bonds let towns build the infrastructure that raised property values, and the higher values repaid the bonds.
The Limit Today
That wealth-creating machine is now reaching its limit: it is too expensive for the average person to buy a house close enough to work that the commute isn't killing them, and home ownership is one of the big reasons so many young people are unhappy with the economy. Remote work, hybrid work, and self-driving cars stretch the radius, so information technology could open the machine up for another two generations. A tax benefit for companies that move toward hybrid work is not a net cost to government, since less wear and tear on infrastructure saves money elsewhere in the budget.
How did the Homestead Act work?
Congress passed the Homestead Act in 1862. A settler could claim 160 acres, pay a small filing fee, live on the land, and farm it for five years to win ownership. The National Park Service reports that roughly 1.6 million homestead claims were granted before the program ended. The last claim was approved in Alaska in 1988.
Why did railroads receive land grants?
Building a railroad across empty country cost far more than private investors could raise up front. The Pacific Railway Act of 1862 gave the companies public land along their routes, which they could sell to settlers or use to secure loans. Settlers arriving by train created the freight and passengers the railroad needed to pay for itself. Over the nineteenth century Congress granted well over a hundred million acres to railroads.
How did tax-free municipal bonds fund suburbs?
Interest paid on municipal bonds is exempt from federal income tax, so investors accept lower interest rates than on comparable taxable bonds. Towns could therefore borrow cheaply to build roads, sewers, and schools. New infrastructure raised property values, and the added property tax revenue repaid the debt. The exemption dates to the first modern federal income tax in 1913.
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