December 11, 2007

Academic Study: Regulation Does Not Reduce Property Values

Education is a good thing, but sometimes I think getting a doctorate degree can be too much of a good thing.   Perhaps all those years of study and memorization fills the cranium beyond capacity, squeezing out the space allocated for common sense.  I had this thought when reviewing a study recently published by the Georgetown Environmental Law and Policy Institute, from Georgetown Law School.  The title says it all:  "Exposing the False Premise of Regulation’s Harm to Landowners"   Apparently, property owners should be lobbying for more regulation.         

print this article | Posted By Mark Alpert In Viewpoints | 0 Comments | Permalink
May 8, 2006

Can Property Rights Reduce the Cost of Gas?

I know that there are those who believe that the plotting of greedy oil executives is behind the recent increases in the price of gasoline. I have identified two far more likely culprits: Supply and Demand. Yes, the basic laws of economics can be quite unforgiving, but we have spent decades interfering with their work, so it shouldn't be surprising they have come back to bite us with vengeance. Government and political interference has made it difficult for Supply to respond to increasing Demand.

Continue Reading print this article | Posted By Mark Alpert/HKC In Viewpoints | 0 Comments | Permalink
March 18, 2006

Reform Needed of the Endangered Species Act

Jennifer Biddison at Townhall.com discusses the human impact of the Endangered Species Act. Her column highlights the abuses of the ESA and the absence of compensation for regulation which has an enormous impact on the value of property. The ESA is badly in need of reform. The ESA unfairly burdens individual property owners with the cost of regulations of speculative benefit that could never be justified if the cost was being borne by the community as a whole. These private taxes will only be curtailed with a more robust application of the Fifth Amendment. If the federal government wants to appropriate private property for habitat, it should pay for it!

print this article | Posted By Mark Alpert/HKC In Viewpoints | 0 Comments | Permalink