Property ownership and rights
I have been reflecting the property ownership lately. Do you really own your home and the property that it sits on? Do you own your car? I have come to the conclusion that the answer to both questions is a resounding no! Oh sure you pay for them, the upkeep, the insurance, and other costs associated with your home or your car, but it has become apparent to me that you do not actually own them.
Let me start with your car. You went to the dealer( or where ever you purchased the thing) and paid for the car with either cash, or a loan from some bank. Either way once you have paid off the car you feel like it is yours to do with as you please. I would suggest that you wrong. When you bought that car you had to put a license plate on it right. In the process of getting that license plate you registered the car with the government. Now they what car you have and way to track you if you break a law. Of course, do not forget that you must an operators license to drive it. That’s right another state mandated thing that you must have, if don’t have you are not supposed to drive. Heck even if you have license and do not have it on your person that too is a crime. After you have had that car for a year you have to renew that license plate or again you can not drive the car. Further suppose you live in an area with emissions standards and have get the car inspected to renew your license plate. If they find something wrong with car you have to fix before they will let renew your plate. Some of these things are subjective and can be as simple a cracked windshield which you feel does not affect you ability to see clearly, but the official inspecting the car thinks otherwise. I am sure there are example other than this but, based on the above if you buy a car and do not follow their rules you are not supposed to drive. I suppose that could disregard all of these things, but then will get at least one ticket and if you refuse to pay the ticket we all know what happens then. So you if essentially have to ask permission to drive something that you own is that really ownership, I think not.
Now on to your home. Most us own our home with the bank that holds our mortgage. Suppose that you want to add on to the house. Do you ask the bank for permission? In most case the answer is no, they just want to make sure that you continue to pay your mortgage. However, you have go to some government official and ask for the appropriate permits, which usually cost money. This process can be painful and not logical. The government may want oversite on your plans and architectural drawings for your proposed add on. They may not like it and will tell that you are not permitted to do whatever is because it does not follow some code. Add a draconian homeowners association into the mix and things become even worse. At that point you have beg two parties who have no stake in your home for permission to change your property. Does something seem wrong with this to any one else out there? Lest we not forget that you HOA has the right to put a lien on your home or even foreclose on it if you own them money and can not pay it for whatever reason. Does that make you feel safe in you home ownership? How about the government abuse of eminent domain. The concept that they can take you land for public use. Of course, unless like under a rock you know that the definition of public use have been expanded by the not so wonderful US Supreme Court. If will recall the Kelo vs New London,CT case where public use defined as giving the land to private developer to build and office building(actually I think it was more than one) was okay as for the public good because it would create jobs. Except that honest people were thrown out of their homes by the government. Also if you don’t allow them to buy out, they can just condemn the property and take it anyway. Either way you are screwed and have little recourse.
All the above factors have led me to one conclusion, and it is the only logical one. You are not really the owner of your property, you are simply paying for the usage of the property until some bureaucrat decides that they need it more than you do. If you and every other person in the US would stand up to these abuses we could make a change for the better, but until that happens we all at the mercy of the goverment.
