Issue 632 It's Your Property July 13, 2015

We now know from last Friday's issue that property is a right and that government owning it is a bad thing.  But what does it mean to have property rights?  

What you can do with your Property:

1) Sell it:  You can sell your property to anyone you want. Additionally you can rent it out as well.  As such, you can make a profit on your own property.

2) Buy it: Since you can sell it, you can also acquire more property.  There is no limit to the amount of property that you can own.  And this is not just houses, but items, businesses and your own inventions as well.

3) Improve it/Change it: If you have a house, and add a new addition, then you have changed the value of the land and made it (hopefully) more livable.  Or you can cut away at it and build something new on your property.  So you can alter your property as you see fit.

4) Mortgage it:  You can put up your property as collateral for money.  As such, your house, car, or anything you own with value can be used as collateral to acquire a loan.  

Conclusion:  These are the basics of what you can do with your property.  If you want to build a house out of beer cans, then you can.  Your property is yours and thus you can and should be able to treat it in any way you see fit.  If you want it as a dumping ground for trash, then that is your prerogative.  Some localities however block the ability to do anything you want and even tax you if the value of the land improves, which in turn violates your rights.  As such, there is pushback on who can do what with their property, but ultimately, so long as we keep government in check and respect each other’s own rights and privileges, then our property is ours to do with as we please.