One of the great questions of citizenship is, “How could we improve the conditions in my local government?” We now embrace this question with the concrete application to my favorite city, Ogden, Utah!
What’s going on with Ogden government?
There are principles and then there is government.
Here is a principle: One man’s rights end where another man’s nose begins.
Is there any government that abides by this basic moral principle?
I don’t think so [1]!
[1] See Our Enemy, The State by Albert Jay Nock for a general discussion on the topic. But more specifically, consider so called “public education.” First, if it were actually owned by the public, we could sell our interest in the undertaking. We could cash out and opt out of the funding program. But of course we cannot. Let’s follow the money. Now “public education,” or more accurately, “government school education,” is financed by third parties. I.e., one home owner subsidizes the “education” of children who are not his own. This violates the principle that one man’s rights (i.e., the student’s right) end where another man’s nose (or wallet) begins. This of course applies even to renters as the landlord’s burden to pay property tax is passed on to the renter.
Dr. Pieder Beeli for Ogden City Council 