Tag Archives: Money/Economy/Taxes

Zoning Laws Destroy Communities

Very interesting analysis.

Zoning laws are a violation of property rights. They destroy the sense of community in neighborhoods, increase crime, increase traffic congestion, contribute to urban and suburban air pollution, contribute to poverty, contribute to reliance in government — and, thus, reduce self-reliance — and contribute to the ruin of our schools. Most of our urban and suburban problems arose with zoning and other antiproperty laws, to which welfare programs and public housing projects have contributed. Each of these policies came out of the idea that society could and should be engineered from the top down to give rise to efficiency, community, and prosperity. What in fact resulted was the opposite outcome.

I. Neighborhoods and Communities

With zoning laws, commercial, industrial, and residential areas are separated from each other. The result is blocks of houses, industrial parks, and strips of stores and restaurants. People have to drive miles to go to the store, to work, or even to the park. It is rare to go to the store and see anyone you know.

But imagine a neighborhood without zoning laws. It would then be possible to have, say, a small grocery store on the corner where you could buy fresh fruits and vegetables, bread, and meat. That store would likely be within walking distance, be owned by one of your neighbors, and be designed to serve the neighborhood.

. . . .

Conclusion

Zoning laws and other laws that restrict what people can do with their property do more harm than good. People argue that “I don’t want someone building a factory in my neighborhood,” but the fact is that nobody wants to build a factory in your neighborhood. They want to build a factory where it is easy to get supplies in and products out, and where there’s plenty of room for employees to park. That’s not your neighborhood. And in an increasingly post-industrial economy, that argument is mostly irrelevant.

I am arguing for allowing natural organization of communities and neighborhoods. I am arguing for healthier neighborhoods and communities.

The elimination of such anti-property-rights laws will allow this. It will make people more self-reliant and thus less dependent on government, meaning there will be more people contributing to the economy, to society, and to their neighborhoods and communities. People will also be healthier, happier, and less stressed.

Social engineering only works to destroy communities and make people more reliant on government programs. (Read more from mises.org)

Letting Greece fail is EU’s last chance

Analysis by Patrick Barron: Refusing to lend sovereign funds to Greece is the EU’s last chance at saving the Euro. Contrary to the the pundits’ claims that a bailout will end the “contagion”, a bailout will spread the contagion. Greece has no real plan for paying off the debt and more countries will demand the same treatment. How can the EU refuse them? This is like watching a slow motion train wreck. Others estimate that the bailout cost–round one only–is already over 135 million Euros. They are simply printing money.

Why we slide toward socialism

. . . . But I don’t think the US is consciously choosing socialism per se, even though we are sliding toward socialism one step at a time, with the electorate ratifying each and every step. Furthermore, I doubt that many of our representatives who voted for the healthcare bill, the bailouts, and all the rest would agree that it is fair to call them socialists. They are simply giving Americans what they think we want. If they did otherwise, they would be voted out of office.

The slide toward socialism in America is not a conscious act. Rather it is the inevitable consequence of abandoning the fetters placed upon the federal government by the Constitution. Nowhere in the Constitution will you find authorization for funding ninety percent of the federal government’s current operations or regulating America’s private businesses.

Rather, the electorate understands that to refrain from lobbying for a government handout of some kind is to become a victim…the government robs you and returns nothing to you or it handicaps you in dealing cooperatively with others. Therefore, the electorate wants “middle class” entitlements similar to the ones the government has granted to the poor, the unions, and big business for decades…with no appreciable beneficial result, by the way.

Economists call this phenomenon a “Tragedy of the Commons”, where all scramble to grab as much of the commonly owned resources as they can before others grab them. Eventually these commonly owned resources are plundered to extinction; thus the name, “Tragedy of the Commons”.

The underlying fact of modern American life is that more and more resources are considered to be “commonly held” or at least subject to confiscation and/or regulation by the government for the benefit of government’s constituencies. It is clear that if you desire to live a life of personal responsibility, asking nothing of anyone, you will become the victim of all the rest—you will contribute more and more to the “common” and get nothing in return. (Read more from patrickbarron.blogspot.com)