All that you think you own

    "A government big enough to give you everything you need, is a government big enough to take away everything that you have...." Thomas Jefferson.  What can never be taken by force, can only be given at will! Property Rights is a main ideal of libertarianism and the liberty movement as a whole. But what is your right to your property? What rights do you really have, hell can you even call it your property? I am talking about land as property, the home site, the family farm, your quaint little corner lot in the small town you grew up in, Is it really yours or is there someone else that has ultimate control on “your” land? Three of the reasons I even question this are Taxation, Eminent Domain and Permits, and I will explain why they are the reasons I say you are only renting from the government.

      The property tax was carried into our United States by feudalism and was used as a means to fund the colony and eventually the state in which the land or property was located. The idea that the state, or even as colonies, the colony could impose a tax on the assessed value of a citizen’s land is something that I do not follow. In the times we live now land is purchased from a bank or private citizen, but it wasn’t always this way. The Government was the original land holder and it was bought, leased or rented from them. Originally the land was not owed by anyone but the American Indians, every tribe had their own region in which they lived, hunted and grew. But that’s a subject for another post altogether. Taxes imposed on the colonies were much lower than today's but were nonetheless a form of theft ( as every tax is). In colonial times those taxes were used for maintaining a well-trained army, among other things. Now these funds are used to fund every nation on earth and to redistribute to those that choose not to work for what they have. Some of the other arguments that come are that the federal government uses this money to pave roads and build highways; this is completely untrue and full of ignorance. The way in which infrastructure is maintained is being left also for another time.

      Eminent Domain is the process by which the government has the power to take private property for public use, or private person or corporation authorized to exercise functions of public character, following the payment of just compensation to the owner of that property. WHAT!!! They can take your property. Now they say with just compensation, but what does that mean, whose idea of a fair price is it? And by what standard do they call it a Government or public use, to build a parking lot or highway? We have too many of those as it is. So eminent domain has been, for the most part used as a way to swindle people out of lands that government deem more valuable to public use or their use rather than private use as it was bought. The idea that the government at any time can strip you of your ownership of rightfully bought property and designate it as for public use or commercial use is one of craziness and absurdity.

     And finally we are on the issue of permits. This is one that I personally cannot stand. The idea that as the owner of property I would need to ask permission for anything is absurd. When you look to improve on, build on or even add on to your property you are required by law to obtain a permit for work performed and adhere to requirements. Next you would have to have the permitted work inspected by an employee of the county or state. Now this is just as if you were renting an apartment and wanted to paint the walls, change the door locks or even replace a window or door. You would need to ask the landlord permission to do so, laying out a plan and all changes being made, after the work is complete the landlord would inspect the work to ensure it was up to their standards. In most cases landlords will not allow some minor changes and even less of major ones to take place. The State however has a way to reduce the amount of rejected projects and make you feel as if you are the true owner of this property, they will place requirements of huge insurance amounts or specific requirements of the type of products used. This allows the state to force compliance through regulations, if you do not agree on the terms you don’t get the work done.

So if you ever want to see who truly owns your land, stop paying taxes or simply build a building without proper permits. You will quickly learn that the true title holder for your corner of the world isn’t those listed on the deed. It is those you call your protectors. I feel that these three reasons are why we never truly own any property like it has been falsely believed for some time. So what do you truly own?