Living in your local feudal serfdom
In "Insanity... one brain cell at a time" I described how city governments attempt to control almost everything that happens within their boundaries, all in the name of improvement. In the process, they cause great complication, driving up the cost of doing almost anything within their borders. In so doing, they are particularly damaging to the poorer members of our society. Low-cost housing, although technically possible, becomes impossible because of restrictive building codes and ordinances. The same codes and ordinances, plus regulations, drive up the minimum cost of businesses, which prevents the relatively poor from turning their effort and creativity into entreprenuerism.
We could argue about what the reasonable functions of a city government should be. As a libertarian, I can make a good case that there may be NO functions that couldn't be done better privately than by government, but I want to examine one of the more recent aspects cities have piled on top of all the other damage they do... "improving" the city... not the city government functions, but virtually everything privately owned within the city.
To demonstrate how vague and all-emcompassing this self-appointed mandate has become, I pulled just two goals from a real city charter. I suspect you can find something similar in most charters.
Improve / Upgrade Housing Stock.
Enhance and Reposition Commercial Development.
Let's remind ourselves that "housing stock" means our PRIVATE homes, and "commercial development" means all the PRIVATE businesses in the city. None of those houses or businesses are owned by the city, and the city contributes nothing to their construction or maintenance. Nevertheless, the city goals clearly consider our houses and businesses to be THEIR property to control, relocate... and even remove... at their whim.
It seems obvious that citizens are considered mere pawns on the chessboard that is the city. In the same manner, our children are often referred to by public schools as "resources", again implying that they are the property of the city.
This attitude is relatively recent, and naturally grew into the eminent domain abuse problem faced by citizens all over the nation. Once the city began to think of citizens and property as theirs to be manipulated, personal rights became secondary.
How did we get to this point?
How did city government become so overblown that this attitude became widespread?
I can answer in broad terms, such as "power corrupts"... put normal citizens in elected office and it will eventually go to their heads, making them feel that "managing" the city, as a whole, is their right... even their duty. They feel as if they must do something important, and they've been taught (in government schools) that all good things come from government, and that without tight government, citizens would wreak all sorts of havoc. They can't let people build just any sort of crazy house, so they write code to make construction standardized, and safe, and tidy, and very expensive. They can't let people start goofy businesses, so they lay out ordinances to insure that all stores meet minimum standards. In the process, they forget that some of our largest corporations started in someones garage.
Elected officials have plenty of people pushing them in that destructive direction. Those who make construction materials, and labor unions, push the implementation and expansion of building codes. Existing businesses push for ordinances and licensing that makes it harder for competitors to enter the city. City employees, seeking job security, naturally push for expansion and change, so they don't run out of work.
As the poor are squeezed financially, some will resort to crime, requiring more police. Increasing city regulations and ordinances means greater need for enforcement. A sick sort of competition also occurs between cities... who has the best shopping areas... who has the nicest housing developments, the best park system, etc., leading officials to offer lucrative deals to developers for showcase developments.
All of these factors lead elected officials down the path of "improving" the city... at the expense of their own citizens... the very people they are supposed to be serving, until it has reached the point where citizens are insignificant pawns to be shuffled about and pushed around to best serve the city. City government, put in place to handle a few tasks in service of the citizens, has become another out-of-control level of government that treats the people like serfs.
Who is to blame? The ugly truth is that we, as citizens, are to blame. We have the mistaken notion that we can simply turn power over to someone else and expect them not to abuse it. We have come to believe that government doesn't even need much oversight... that our elected officials will just "do what is right". That is completely naive. We ignore city government until it does something that affects us personally, and even then, we've come to believe that "you can't fight city hall", so we often just take what comes and live with it.
Can you name the mayor of your city?
Can you name the council member who represents your district?
Do you have any idea how much your city government is costing you in taxes?
Have you ever been to a council meeting in your city?
Very few of us can answer more than one of those questions in the affirmative... and that is why city government is out of control. Elected officials are seldom confronted by anyone except those trying to gain some favor. Very few citizens attend council meetings, so the natural result is that elected officials have to guess about what to do. They're not evil people (most of them), but they're caught up in a naturally corrupting system (government) that doesn't work well with a LOT of citizen oversight, and is disastrous with the amount of attention we give to city government.
While many of us are informed and opinionated about federal and even state government issues, we continue to ignore local governments, which have become bloated, intrusive and oppressive through our neglect.
How bloated? With a bit of effort, you can find your city's annual budget and population. Divide the budget amount by the population to get an idea how much you're paying for what they do. Here are a few examples from the Twin Cities area:
Robbinsdale: $22.5 million budget, 14,500 citizens, $1551 per person per year
Richfield: $50 million budget, 35,000 citizens, $1429 per person per year
Bloomington: $100 million budget, 85,000 citizens, $1176 per person per year
Brooklyn Park: $95 million budget, 69,000 citizens, $1376 per person per year
St Louis Park: $140 million budget, 44,000 citizens, $3182 per person per year
Do you really believe that paying that much each year in return for being treated like a slave is a good deal? Do you think that attending some council meetings and giving them your opinion might be a good idea?
We could argue about what the reasonable functions of a city government should be. As a libertarian, I can make a good case that there may be NO functions that couldn't be done better privately than by government, but I want to examine one of the more recent aspects cities have piled on top of all the other damage they do... "improving" the city... not the city government functions, but virtually everything privately owned within the city.
To demonstrate how vague and all-emcompassing this self-appointed mandate has become, I pulled just two goals from a real city charter. I suspect you can find something similar in most charters.
Improve / Upgrade Housing Stock.
Enhance and Reposition Commercial Development.
Let's remind ourselves that "housing stock" means our PRIVATE homes, and "commercial development" means all the PRIVATE businesses in the city. None of those houses or businesses are owned by the city, and the city contributes nothing to their construction or maintenance. Nevertheless, the city goals clearly consider our houses and businesses to be THEIR property to control, relocate... and even remove... at their whim.
It seems obvious that citizens are considered mere pawns on the chessboard that is the city. In the same manner, our children are often referred to by public schools as "resources", again implying that they are the property of the city.
This attitude is relatively recent, and naturally grew into the eminent domain abuse problem faced by citizens all over the nation. Once the city began to think of citizens and property as theirs to be manipulated, personal rights became secondary.
How did we get to this point?
How did city government become so overblown that this attitude became widespread?
I can answer in broad terms, such as "power corrupts"... put normal citizens in elected office and it will eventually go to their heads, making them feel that "managing" the city, as a whole, is their right... even their duty. They feel as if they must do something important, and they've been taught (in government schools) that all good things come from government, and that without tight government, citizens would wreak all sorts of havoc. They can't let people build just any sort of crazy house, so they write code to make construction standardized, and safe, and tidy, and very expensive. They can't let people start goofy businesses, so they lay out ordinances to insure that all stores meet minimum standards. In the process, they forget that some of our largest corporations started in someones garage.
Elected officials have plenty of people pushing them in that destructive direction. Those who make construction materials, and labor unions, push the implementation and expansion of building codes. Existing businesses push for ordinances and licensing that makes it harder for competitors to enter the city. City employees, seeking job security, naturally push for expansion and change, so they don't run out of work.
As the poor are squeezed financially, some will resort to crime, requiring more police. Increasing city regulations and ordinances means greater need for enforcement. A sick sort of competition also occurs between cities... who has the best shopping areas... who has the nicest housing developments, the best park system, etc., leading officials to offer lucrative deals to developers for showcase developments.
All of these factors lead elected officials down the path of "improving" the city... at the expense of their own citizens... the very people they are supposed to be serving, until it has reached the point where citizens are insignificant pawns to be shuffled about and pushed around to best serve the city. City government, put in place to handle a few tasks in service of the citizens, has become another out-of-control level of government that treats the people like serfs.
Who is to blame? The ugly truth is that we, as citizens, are to blame. We have the mistaken notion that we can simply turn power over to someone else and expect them not to abuse it. We have come to believe that government doesn't even need much oversight... that our elected officials will just "do what is right". That is completely naive. We ignore city government until it does something that affects us personally, and even then, we've come to believe that "you can't fight city hall", so we often just take what comes and live with it.
Can you name the mayor of your city?
Can you name the council member who represents your district?
Do you have any idea how much your city government is costing you in taxes?
Have you ever been to a council meeting in your city?
Very few of us can answer more than one of those questions in the affirmative... and that is why city government is out of control. Elected officials are seldom confronted by anyone except those trying to gain some favor. Very few citizens attend council meetings, so the natural result is that elected officials have to guess about what to do. They're not evil people (most of them), but they're caught up in a naturally corrupting system (government) that doesn't work well with a LOT of citizen oversight, and is disastrous with the amount of attention we give to city government.
While many of us are informed and opinionated about federal and even state government issues, we continue to ignore local governments, which have become bloated, intrusive and oppressive through our neglect.
How bloated? With a bit of effort, you can find your city's annual budget and population. Divide the budget amount by the population to get an idea how much you're paying for what they do. Here are a few examples from the Twin Cities area:
Robbinsdale: $22.5 million budget, 14,500 citizens, $1551 per person per year
Richfield: $50 million budget, 35,000 citizens, $1429 per person per year
Bloomington: $100 million budget, 85,000 citizens, $1176 per person per year
Brooklyn Park: $95 million budget, 69,000 citizens, $1376 per person per year
St Louis Park: $140 million budget, 44,000 citizens, $3182 per person per year
Do you really believe that paying that much each year in return for being treated like a slave is a good deal? Do you think that attending some council meetings and giving them your opinion might be a good idea?
posted by Robert Ronald Smith at 12:01 AM
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