Can We Put an End to Government Theft?

Two recent events suggest that the tide is slowly beginning to turn on government theft. And by theft, I’m not talking about taxes. I’m talking about the basic idea that what’s mine is mine to have and to use, and that the government doesn’t get to take from me simply because some bureaucrat thinks they can use my property better, or because police think a crime was committed but don’t want to be bothered to prove it.

You would think the idea that government shouldn’t steal would be as uncontroversial as the notion that citizens shouldn’t steal. Alas, it is not. Not only has government frequently engaged in blatant theft, but its actions have been legally protected by bad laws and even worse judicial oversight. But there are indications that change is on the horizon.

Though don’t get too excited yet, because at best we’re talking about small first steps in the right direction.

First, the good news. The Supreme Court agreed to hear a case that could have significant impact on property rights. It’s brought by California raisin farmers who were fined massive amounts by the government simply for selling their crop. You see, in America – the land of the free and the home of the brave – it’s rarely ever true that you can juts make a product and sell it. You must jump through hopes to produce your goods, then jump through more to sell them.

In this case the hoops were much more onerous and burdensome than simply registering or acquiring a license. A Depression-era regulation grants a board of bureaucrats the power to decide, in Soviet-style fashion, the proper product yield for a given year. They then force all producers to sell through government middlemen, who enforce the yield limit by siphoning off a percent from each farmer into a “reserve pool” that can eventually be either sold overseas for highly discounted prices or given away to schools for almost nothing.

This protectionist scheme hurts both consumers and, despite its intentions, producers.

It’s also unconstitutional, as the Fifth Amendment requires “just compensation” for government takings.

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