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Principles and Practicality
In the mid-1990s, Joe Overton identified a political concept that became known as the Overton Window. The website for the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, where Overton was a senior vice president, describes the concept: Joseph Overton observed that in a given public policy area, such as education, only a relatively narrow range of potential…
Individual Rights: The Ultimate in Local Control
In his concurring opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, Associate Justice Clarence Thomas wrote, “In future cases, we should reconsider all of this Court’s substantive due process precedents, including Griswold, Lawrence, and Obergefell. Because any substantive due process decision is ‘demonstrably erroneous, we have a duty to ‘correct the error’ established in those…
Property Rights in America Today
While individuals from across the political spectrum generally pay lip service to individual rights, property rights suffer from widespread hostility. Virtually everyone is willing to sacrifice property rights for some “higher cause.” As the 2020 election unfolds, those on the political Left are stumbling over themselves to offer free values in exchange for votes. They…
Friday Roundup 9-3-21
Ardent Residential wants to build a 275-unit apartment building in Austin. The company plans to set aside 10 percent of the units for low-income families. But the project requires rezoning to allow for higher density housing. When the Austin Zoning and Platting Commission (ZAP) recently heard the case, commissioners were deadlocked on approving the rezoning….
Property Rights in Space: The Celestial Commons
Leftists regard space as a part of the “celestial commons.” Space, they claim, belongs to all of mankind and private interests should not benefit from what belongs to everyone. Any wealth generated from activities in space should be shared with all of mankind. The celestial commons should not be “enclosed” by establishing property rights in…
Theft is Theft
Imagine for a moment, that a neighbor’s young daughter desperately needs surgery to save her life, but her family can’t afford the medical expenses. If her father broke into homes in the neighborhood and stole money to pay for the surgery, we would recognize his actions as theft. His tragic circumstances do not change the…