Agnes de Mille

Your tribute to the versatile Agnes de Mille (Oct. 8) noted only in passing that she was granddaughter to California’s great writer, economist and public figure, Henry George. More than that, she was, with all her other activities, his loyal and aggressive protagonist. Before her stroke, she was a resolute director of the Henry George School and the Schalkenbach Foundation, dedicated to advancing George’s cause. She wanted action, pushing and scolding (when appropriate) dawdling old men like children.

In 1979 she contributed a new preface for the centennial edition of George’s basic work, “Progress and Poverty”--one whose vigor and urgency rocked cautious co-directors, just as her grandfather would have.

Now, Gov. Pete Wilson can’t figure out how to finance this state without driving away business. Agnes and her grandfather figured it out long ago: Tax the land instead of sales and payrolls and buildings. With the state economy sinking fast, it’s time again for some George-de Mille pro-incentive taxation.

MASON GAFFNEY

Professor of Economics, UC Riverside