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.
More robust property rights can contribute to the supply of oil and gasoline by enabling private property owners and government, when it acts as a property owner, to develop resources. We have all heard about the reserve in Alaska that has remained untapped, but similar scenarios are playing themselves out across the United States. Organized activists, often representing a minority of public opinion, utilize environmental laws and political muscle to prevent the creation of new sources of energy, such as oil wells, oil refineries and nuclear power plants. Politicians act like, well, politicians. When faced with even a small group of organized opposition, they run for the hills. Refineries don’t get built. Oil rigs don’t get drilled. Roads don’t get built.
By limiting the discretion of local politicians to approve or disapprove projects that are otherwise consistent with local zoning and existing uses, we can limit the politics in land use planning, protect property rights and make such projects more cost-effective.
I know there are a lot of NIMBY types out there (you know, “Not in My Back Yard”) who, in theory, believe in property rights. You have succeeded in making flights out of John Wayne Airport feel like a roller coaster ride. We have to rethink the way in which local planning is done or face a future in which our infrastructure will continue to decay. As with our old friends, Supply and Demand, ignoring the problems will not make them go away.