Oh yeah, now I remember...
I spend a lot of my time building things, or getting ready to build things. I also spend a lot of time being disgusted at the government when it sticks its nose in where it doesn't belong. Last week I experienced an overlap. It's like this:
150 years ago someone built a house on Hoover Road just north of Hagerstown. 63 years ago a young couple bought that house, raised a nice family, and then retired. A while back, they asked us to build an addition onto the back of their home.
While I have never agreed that a person who owns a property should have to ask their government for permission to build a home on that property, I usually attempt to obtain the required permits, realizing that not every customer is interested in fighting the same battles that I have chosen to fight.
My attempt to procure this particular permit, however, took a nasty turn. I was informed that the house which had stood in the same location for a century and a half was now too close to the road. I was also informed that if owners of this property, who had bought and paid for it, and paid the property taxes for 63 years, wanted to add a room on the back of their home, they would have to seek permission from their neighbors. Even though one of the neighbors lived a mile away. And even though one of the neighbors lived in Tennessee. And even though the room addition will be further off the road than the new government regulations require.
As it should be, none of the neighbors objected to the room, and most were amused or indignant that such a rule even exists. And even with no objections, the statute requires that the government wait ten days before issuing the permit.
Every so often, something like this happens to remind me of why I became a Libertarian. And every so often something like this happens to add a few more Libertarians to the fold.
150 years ago someone built a house on Hoover Road just north of Hagerstown. 63 years ago a young couple bought that house, raised a nice family, and then retired. A while back, they asked us to build an addition onto the back of their home.
While I have never agreed that a person who owns a property should have to ask their government for permission to build a home on that property, I usually attempt to obtain the required permits, realizing that not every customer is interested in fighting the same battles that I have chosen to fight.
My attempt to procure this particular permit, however, took a nasty turn. I was informed that the house which had stood in the same location for a century and a half was now too close to the road. I was also informed that if owners of this property, who had bought and paid for it, and paid the property taxes for 63 years, wanted to add a room on the back of their home, they would have to seek permission from their neighbors. Even though one of the neighbors lived a mile away. And even though one of the neighbors lived in Tennessee. And even though the room addition will be further off the road than the new government regulations require.
As it should be, none of the neighbors objected to the room, and most were amused or indignant that such a rule even exists. And even with no objections, the statute requires that the government wait ten days before issuing the permit.
Every so often, something like this happens to remind me of why I became a Libertarian. And every so often something like this happens to add a few more Libertarians to the fold.
posted by Rex Bell at 12:20 PM
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