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A Dangerous Precedent
ByjbpIt is said that a broken (analog) clock is correct twice a day. Similarly, occasionally Trump gets something right, even if by accident. In the case of his recent claim that oil fields in Venezuela were stolen and belong to the United States, he is partially right. When he announced the naval blockade of Venezuela,…
Texas Supreme Court Sanctions the Rule of Whim
Last year, I wrote about the case of Hinga Mbogo, a Dallas auto shop owner whose property was retroactively rezoned to make way for restaurants and other businesses more to the liking of the Dallas city council. In late August, the Texas Supreme Court refused to hear his case, thereby forcing Mbogo to abandon the…
A “Mineral Rights” Controversy
An interesting controversy has erupted in Mississippi. Two private companies claim that they own the rights to minerals under certain parcels of land in Simpson County. Property owners have denied the companies access to their land to explore for oil and gas. A Simpson County judge has ordered the land owners to provide access. A…
Property Rights and Pollution, Part 2
In Part 1, we examined the “tragedy of the commons.” In Part 2, we will examine how property rights can be applied to water. The following is an excerpt from The Innovator Versus the Collective. In some ways, water presents more complexity than air. Not only does water exist in oceans, lakes, rivers, and other…
Property Rights and Natural Monopolies, Part 1
The following is an excerpt from The Innovator Versus the Collective. For seventy years, Americans were told that the AT&T monopoly was good for consumers, and as a result, competition in the telephone industry was prohibited. Yet, within a few years of legalized competition, consumers had far more choices and lower priced telephone service and…
Property Rights and the “Little Guy,” Part 2
In Part 1 of this series, we examined how property rights protect the freedom of the “little guy” to improve his economic status. But when property rights are violated, the opportunities are diminished. The minimum wage is one example. Suppose an employer could use someone to perform mundane tasks, such as sweeping the floor or…