Here is an interesting piece that appeared over the weekend. It seems the AP is the main source of information on this meeting so it hasn't had much press yet.
The idea of decentralizing government power and control - over land, personal property, individual freedoms and personal lives - is compelling, and unless it is accomplished, we are headed for (and are already in) a diminished state of freedom in this country. If you haven't read The Road to Serfdom by Friedrich Hayek, it is a primer on the insidious rise of government authority over our personal lives and its consequent evolution into tyranny. This book should be available in any library, in used and new bookstores, and may be available as an e-book. It's a short book, but full of essential concepts of liberty.
The summit in Salt Lake City brings into focus three key concepts:
- A larger, more distant government cannot make better decisions governing the fate of a people than one that is closer to, and more responsive to their electorate.
- Even at the local level, individual rights must be protected from an overbearing government. As a general rule, no one takes care of property better than the owner who has a vested interest in its care and maintenance. All personal freedoms must be defended and preserved.
- A citizenry that wants to retain some powers for itself, can and should preserve them within their charter or constitution. To protect citizens from officials who may want to encumber them with large debt or make certain decisions deemed unwise, the public can require a vote.
“Legislative Summit on the Transfer of Public Lands"
Western states to feds: Turn over public lands
SALT LAKE CITY — A group of lawmakers and policymakers from eight Western states joined forces Friday in an all-day summit in Salt Lake City to declare "enough is enough" against the federal government when it comes to management of public lands.
"It is time states in the West came of age," said Idaho House Speaker Scott Bedke, R-Twin Falls. "We are every bit as capable of managing the lands within our boundaries as are the states to our east, those states east of Colorado."
Bedke and representatives from Wyoming, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Washington, Oregon and Utah, are part of a coalition of Western states where federal land ownership has been an enduring complaint they say locks up access to mineral resources, strips them of revenue and shreds their autonomy when it comes to control of their own house.
"There is a distinct difference in the way federal agencies are managing the federal lands today," said Montana Sen. Jennifer Fielder, a co-organizer of the summit.
"They used they to do a good job, but they are hamstrung now with conflicting policies, politicized science and an extreme financial crisis at the national level. It makes it impossible for these federal agencies to manage the lands responsibly any more."
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