O Tempora!

Do you own a house? If you are like most homeowners, especially younger ones, you have a mortgage. The mortgagee (holder of the loan) actually owns it. If you get behind on your payments, the mortgagee can foreclose – kick you out and sell the place. If you own your home free and clear, you still have to pay taxes on it till death do you part. If you don’t keep up those payments, some government agency will kick you out and sell the place. Even if you keep paying your taxes, you can’t necessarily do what you to maintain it. If you want to replace your furnace, for example, you can’t put any new unit in. As of May 1, 2013, regulations kick in that demand new furnaces must be at least 90% efficient instead of 78%. Furnaces that meet the new rating cost about twice as much as the older ones. This is but one example of the police state’s share in the ownership of your house.

Do you own a car? Cars are expensive, so people often borrow money to buy them. Lenders can repossess cars, too. But even if you own your car outright, do you really own it? Suppose you want to remove the seatbelts or disable the airbags. You’re not allowed. In fact, most states force you to wear the government-mandated seat belts. Don’t get me wrong – I like the fact that seatbelts and airbags can save lives, and I’ve been using seatbelts since 1962. But why must the bureaucratic buttinskies make you buy and/or use this safety equipment? If you don’t use these protective items, you will be the only one to suffer in case of a crash. The police state strikes again! You don’t own that car!

Do you own yourself? “Of course!” you might say, scoffing at such a dumb question. You can’t, of course, use your body to harm someone else, except in self-defense (in the US). Suppose you don’t like beer, but you’d like to try some other drug for pleasure. The central government says, “No, you can’t!” Even if your state has legalized marijuana (as my state of Colorado has), toking up still carries the risk of arrest by the feds. And cocaine, heroin, meth, LSD and the rest of the banned list could get you jail time anywhere in the country.

Can you sell body parts? If you own something, you should be able to sell it. But no, you can’t sell a kidney while you’re alive, or have your heirs sell your corpse when you’re freshly dead. You can give away parts, but thanks to the National Organ Transplant Act, you can’t part yourself out for profit. (FYI, Nobel Laureate and former cable news tycoon Al “Jazeera” Gore headed the effort to pass this law. What a humanitarian!) Thousands of people die in the US every year waiting for “free” organs. The free market would save lives, but collectivists would rather confiscate your parts (“mandatory donation”). The police state is three for three!