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February/March 2007 The Right of Property
As the New Year begins, rights held by ordinary productive citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia remain in jeopardy. In almost every sphere of life, the courts, the General Assembly, the Governor and local governments openly collude to take rights of property, in the broadest sense. Whether the issue is taxation, agriculture or eminent domain, Virginia, the home of many of the nation’s Founders, has sunk near the bottom of the pit as far as its government’s respect for the rights of the individual. Since rights are not “destroyed,” but must vest in some person, there has been no “loss of rights.” Instead, there has been a transfer of control from the individual to agents of the state, to non-profit special interests, and to a corporate sector beholden to the state for its power and privilege. The “little man,” the millions of individual property owners, has seen a consolidation of powers of the ‘three branches,’ not one of which respects the constitutional limits of its authority or behaves as a lawful servant of the people. The result has been the accrual of more power in the hands of the governing class through a change in governing structure. In addition, the aristocracy of land and old money has combined with Virginia’s nouveau-elite who are concentrated in the populated counties surrounding the Washington, D.C.-Richmond-Norfolk corridor. The appearance of darlings of suburbia, such as Mark Warner and now his successor, Tim Kaine, to the office of Governor, seems to confirm the admonitions of the Founders about Democracy and Demagoguery. Two years ago, Mark Warner and the Virginia Senate presided over the largest tax hike in Virginia history while lying to the voters, claiming opposition to tax increases. A steady stream of political appointees, corporate executives, high-level bureaucrats, admirals, colonels, and lesser career professionals flows outward from Sodom on the Potomac, seeking higher ground, a place “further out” on manicured country estates surrounded by miles of whitewashed fence. In their “unique, irreplaceable and pristine” Eden, land is “preserved.” Property is a kept woman pampered with tax write-offs, adorned with conservation easement baubles, and serenaded by the baying of hounds chasing the fox. For all the pleasures demanded by the hunt club set, “the little man” pays dearly. The kleptomania has spread its tentacles south and west to the rural heartland of Virginia. Even in the remote village, local “leaders” are enticed; welcoming and encouraging corruption of every remaining pocket of political, social and cultural sanity and independence. City councils and county supervisors belly-up to the banquet table with the purveyors of pork, hoisting flagons to their grease-dripping chins, eagerly participating in the gluttony of spend, tax and take. But there are rumblings of discontent and signs of change coming from the “little man.” Politics, like nature, abhors a vacuum. There is no doubt a great vacuum of principle exists in Washington and in Richmond. Former US Senator George Allen, once a popular Virginia Governor, turned upon his people and lied to them about his Jeffersonian ideals. Last fall, he suffered the wrath of a betrayed electorate. It was the revenge of “little man,” one of whom called Allen’s fate the “Saddam Hussein syndrome”—he was arrogant to the end, even as the trap door fell and the rope was jerked taut. Not only was Allen removed from office, but a crippling blow was dealt his pet project, the Journey Through Hallowed Ground (JTHG) National Heritage Area. The final moments of the 109th Congress witnessed the frenzied efforts of an assorted coalition of con-artists, collectivists, preservationists and environmentalists attempting to ram their brand of “socially conscious” elitism down the throats of property owners in Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia and Pennsylvania. Introduced in the early months of 2006, and sponsored in the Senate by George Allen and in the House by Frank Wolf, both “Conservative Virginia Republicans,” it appeared certain this National Park Service scheme would be signed into law by President Bush. Even with the support of major legislative players such as Senator John Warner and Congressmen of both parties in most of the districts affected, the JTHG legislation to construct another regional framework for federal land-use control over millions of acres of private land sank into well-deserved ignominy. A massive campaign of letters, phone calls, emails and personal contacts made by angered property owners won a sweet victory. The kleptocrats will, no doubt, be back, but the “little man” is ready. 2006 ended with Virginia as one of a dozen States failing to pass legislation limiting the outrageous abuses of eminent domain. The culprit was the Senate. A strong bill sponsored by Delegate Joannou made it through the House, but developers, local governments and condemnors such as VDOT lobbied to kill real protections for property owners. The Senate passed its own bill which would have codified the current thievery. Pro-property rights advocates rallied to support the House position and, in the final moments of the session, prevented a “compromise” bill from being passed. Once again, taking a stand on principles, ordinary Virginians were able to stop a disaster and regroup to fight harder this year. The Virginia Institute for Public Policy Another positive note for 2007 is legislation to limit property taxation in Virginia. House Joint Resolution 559, introduced by Delegate Jeff Frederick, also known as the VOTORS plan, provides for a constitutional amendment whereby assessments of real property would not increase annually by more than one percent plus the percentage increase, if any, in the rate of inflation. Increases in the rate of taxation on real property would be limited to one percent per year. The proposal would change Virginia from a “current market value” system to an “acquisition value based” system similar to California’s 1978 Proposition 13. And to end with another piece of welcome news, Delegate Rob Wittman has introduced a bill to halt the National Animal Identification System (NAIS) in Virginia. House Bill 1990 requires the Virginia Commissioner of Agriculture to “ensure that the Department does not participate in or provide any assistance to the establishment of the National Animal Identification System or any substantially similar program.” The Liberty Ark Coalition reports Bernadette Barber, a Virginia wife, mother, and small farmer, contacted Delegate Wittman to seek his help in stopping the program. “The U.S. Department of Agriculture cannot even secure the safety of spinach,” she said. “I really don’t want them regulating and charging me for growing my own food.” NAIS is one of the most virulently anti-property rights programs ever concocted by USDA. The “little man” would suffer the most, but he has the power to deal NAIS a death blow in Virginia. On June 8, 1789, James Madison proposed an Amendment to the Constitution, “That government is instituted, and ought to be exercised for the benefit of the people; which consists in the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the right of acquiring and using property, and generally of pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety.” It is clear members of Virginia’s ruling establishment do not have the slightest intent to mend their ways or to honor Madison’s principles. It will be the “little man” who again forces them to do so. The Virginia Land Rights Coalition |
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