COULD THIS BE THE TIME FOR A PROPERTY RIGHTS REVIVAL?

 

 

 

 

Joyce Morrison
February 15, 2006
NewsWithViews.com

�The Time for a Property Rights Revival is now� appeared at the top of a �Dear Colleague� letter recently signed by four conservative western legislators who believe it is time to get our nation to �restore the Founders� vision of a country with vigorous property rights protections.�

Until the Supreme Court case of Kelo v. City of New London, Americans were asleep as property rights continued to erode through the abuse of eminent domain and numerous other invasive programs. Finally, with the handing down of this Court decision, there has been an awakening among the people which caught the attention of a few legislators who understand the Constitution.

Legislators wearing the white hats are C. L. �Butch� Otter, Idaho; Chris Cannon, Utah; Jim Gibbons, Nevada; and Jeff Flake from Arizona, who will be sponsoring a bill called �The Comprehensive Property Rights Reform Act of 2006.� Their hope is this bill will go a long way in restoring property rights in America.

The contents of this bill have not yet been revealed. We need to be watching to make certain this bill will contain strong enough language to protect private property against any effort to destroy the Constitutional rights of private property ownership.

As good as all this sounds, there needs to be a wake-up call for Americans to come to the realization that legislators have little control. Our system of checks and balances is broken and the power shift has gone to appointees and non-governmental organizations who are not elected by the people. Although a bill may begin as great legislation, it often becomes powerless.

Have you ever wondered where all the rules and regulations that we follow daily originate? Weekly, I receive a state publication called The Flinn Report. The Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR) is a state legislative committee which interprets the law with proposed regulations made up by the various bureaus. As an example, these are some of the issues last week:

Fees and fines and hundreds of rules and regulations go through this committee for approval. The general public no longer questions the rules and regulations or how or where they originate -- they just obediently comply.

Apathy has virtually destroyed our nation. It is difficult to get the �Average Joe� away from his football game and beer to see what has happened in the real world while he has been AWOL from reality. He relies on the �government to take care of it.� About the best he can do is grumble and complain, but refuses to become informed or do anything to make a difference.

Taking someone�s property used to come at the risk of death. A cattle rustler knew he was risking a hangman�s noose, but in today�s worldview of socialism and secular humanism, there is a teaching that �everything� should be shared by all.

There was a time when people would die of hunger rather than steal. But look at what happened in New Orleans during Katrina where people did not hesitate to take anything that was not tied down�.far beyond their physical needs.

Property owners are now expected to share their sweat equity with the public while regulations regarding the Endangered Species Act, Scenic Byway programs, watershed projects and hundreds of programs take �control� of property regardless of ownership.

How calloused has the Supreme Court become that they would uphold a developer�s rights above the little guy who has spent his entire life working to pay for a home of his own, only to be kicked out in exchange for a mall or big box store? Individual ownership means nothing to those whose conscience no longer exists.

Many legislators and others in powerful positions lose their perspective as they are separated from their �roots.� They lose their basic knowledge of �right and wrong.� Once the conscience barrier is broken, they compromise their values and forget they should be protecting the �little guy� not taking and destroying him.

If we want our nation to remain free, it is definitely time for a property rights revival � and the time is now. When we see legislators trying to help, the �Average Joe� is going to have to get off the couch and make it known to those who are taking away his rights that he won�t stand for it. He needs to lend his support to the legislators who are trying to help.

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We cannot afford to wait, or we will become the �Communist nation� that we have fought so hard against, all the while sacrificing our men and women to preserve our freedoms. What purpose is there to send our military abroad to protect us when we are allowing our nation to be destroyed from within?

When we no longer have property rights, we will no longer have a free and sovereign nation.

� 2006 Joyce Morrison - All Rights Reserved