Another View
Property Rights: Greed of the 90s
by Ted Rhodes
I found P. Patricia Callahan’s comparison of the present property rights “efforts” with the civil rights movement of the 60s a bit
hard to swallow (Frost Illustrated, Nov.29-Dec.
5,1995). A tremendous number of people joined the civil rights struggles of the 50s
and 60s, many of them risking their lives, to right the intolerable social injustice that not all men and women in this country
were being treated equally or fairly despite the clear and solid tenets set forth by the Declaration of Independence and the
US Constitution. It is a struggle, alas, that is far from being over.
The more vocal individuals that I have encountered from
the property rights “movement” seemed inspired by a far different motivation
than their civil rights counterparts: the motivation of their own pocket books at the expense of the public good. Surely I can understand some disillusionment from small, family-owned businesses that may feel over
burdened by governmental red tape. However, I do not sense that the present clamor
over property rights is really about that at all. Most of the rhetoric around the country is being
generated by large scale developers and their advocates who wish to speculate on huge parcels of land at great public expense
for maximum profit and with little public scrutiny. Never mind that our school system will be overcrowded. Never mind about the park--the basketball hoops--that we wanted to have. Never mind about the increase in traffic--the increase in crime. Never mind other city and social services that will be compromised.
“Entrepreneurship and hard work” are one
thing. Speculating on land that is not our own is another. Fixing up one’s property and leaving it to one’s children or grandchildren is a noble cause. However, buying an empty parcel of land on strict speculation, hoping to make a killing if our luck
pays out, is not an honest way to make a buck. And where’s the “hard work”
in that? Take a good look at the 30 Bypass. That
is what a community looks like when driven by this so called “property rights” sentiment. But do any of us really want to live at the mall?
I grew up in Southern California. Towns that once had character, charm and a sense of community--like Fort Wayne
once had--now look like the 30 Bypass due in large part to this “property rights” mentality that for years has
dominated the planning process. It is a mentality driven by
the personal greed of a few of our more vocal and powerful developers who strive to make millions and millions of dollars
at great public expense. And let’s not forget that many of the more vocal proponents of this
“new “ property rights push--our Newt Gingriches and Rush Limbaughes--are the very
same people now trying to undo what gains we have made in civil rights.
I caution the small business person not to associate
him or herself too closely with any such property “movement.” Making maximum profits in
the name of greed is not an inalienable right. Wanting a piece of the pie is one thing. We all want that. Wanting all of the pie is quite another. The civil rights struggle is not about grabbing all of the pie and never was; it is about gaining a fair share and a fair shake for everybody. That’s what unionism
is all about too. Who can blame the workers at Fort Wayne Foundry for going out on strike? They aren’t greedy. They just want a fair shake like everybody else.
The water will be muddy indeed if, in any way, we attempt
to equate property rights with civil rights. The truth about this so called “property
rights” movement is that it’s nothing but greed and profit dressed up for the ‘90s.
[Ted Rhodes, a writer and motion picture technician, once worked for the local poverty program
and was one of the founding editors of The Fort Wayne Free Press. He presently lives in Carpinteria, California.]
Reprinted from Frost Illustrated (News & Views of Black Americans), December, 1995.
