Shredder’s fidelity to property rights (“To seize or not to seize?” June 13) seems not to take into account that in every political system, it is the state and its military forces that control all land within. Some states—like the U.S.—allow folks to own pieces of property in perpetuity if they pay their taxes. But, as the American Indians will tell you, even written down property rights only hold up if courts and sheriffs agree.
Which brings me to Mr. Bunnell and his buddies whose ranch-y property rights shouldn’t be extended to being able to block construction of a needed road or bike path, no matter how personally concerned they are about liability and homelessness. Yes, they are owners of record but only because titles have been granted to them by a government, the real “property owner.”
Todd Katz
San Luis Obispo
This article appears in Winning Images 2024.
The collectivist approach to the ownership of property has a lot of appeal, so why limit it to just real estate? As we Boomers age and our bodies fail, it certainly seems unfair and inequitable that young adults monopolize all the young body parts for themselves, especially when they have extras anyway. Why should a 22 year old be allowed to retain two kidneys, lungs or corneas, when all they need is one, and it could make so much difference to a sickly old timer? Why stand on outdated notions of “ownership” when the public is best served by allocating body parts fairly. Equity demands that they share!