Convened and reported on by Lois Paul at Blue Nile from 1:45 – 2:50pm
Attendees: Lois, Lynn, Aaron, and Tom
Private landownership is central to the history of America. When New England was first settled by the Puritans and Pilgrims, they tried a form of Socalism where everyone was given land and expected to work, putting the crop in a communal storehouse. This experiment failed.
They next divided up the land and told the people they could keep the fruit of their labors, and production soared. People take their land ownership and responsibility seriously.
Landowners have a right to do as they see fit on their land without governmental interference. They must, however consider who is ‘downstream’ and act within the zoning constraints (no townhomes on agriculturally zoned land). The people decide by their votes how the land is used.
When the Shenandoah National Park was created, they kicked the landowners off their land. In an article by a Ranger, they lauded the park saying the people could come and visit ‘where grandma’s cabin was or where their relatives were buried.’ If they had not been kicked off their own land (which in some cases had been in the family for generations), they would not be visitors, but residents.
In the Kelo case in New England, a landowner lost the right to her property to a developer – this was upheld by the courts.
What’s to stop the government from seizing your land again, if they wanted it?
For more info, check out the following website about the History of Sustanable Development
For more information, contact Lois Paul lpfirebrand [at] gmail.com
