Comments on: Bush to sell off federal land http://davidvoegtle.net/blog/2006/05/09/bush-to-sell-off-federal-land/ Homestead on the virtual frontier Thu, 14 Aug 2008 01:15:24 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: dbvoegtle http://davidvoegtle.net/blog/2006/05/09/bush-to-sell-off-federal-land/comment-page-1/#comment-593 dbvoegtle Thu, 11 May 2006 15:10:27 +0000 http://davidvoegtle.net/blog/2006/05/09/bush-to-sell-off-federal-land/#comment-593 Borrowing seems to be what they're good at. Borrowing against the future. Borrowing seems to be what they’re good at. Borrowing against the future.

]]> By: chasing http://davidvoegtle.net/blog/2006/05/09/bush-to-sell-off-federal-land/comment-page-1/#comment-587 chasing Wed, 10 May 2006 16:19:48 +0000 http://davidvoegtle.net/blog/2006/05/09/bush-to-sell-off-federal-land/#comment-587 From a conservation standpoint, this is a horrible idea. But it is likewise horrible from a fiscal standpoint - as what happens when you run out of land to sell? It's borrowing against the future, and it's selling what will no doubt be unrecoverable, even when future administrations come to their collective senses. "Hey, I know you built an office park and a MegaLomart on the land...but really, we'd like it back.... it's to be a PARK, you see." We don't need to encourage sprawl, and we don't need to encourage poor land management - the vast "out there" doesn't exactly have it's own SOS, and private owners will no doubt thumb their noses at the Sierra Club (if it's yet relevant). And who are we going to turn to to protect the land, at that point - obviously not the federal government, since they sold it off in the first place. Beyond all this - it's MY land. By which, of course, I mean it's OUR land. How dare they sell it off? I certainly don't consent. There should at the very least be a clause that give the public a right to buy out such lands before it goes to the highest bidder, to be held in trust. Maybe we can convince Bill Gates to save it for us. Stranger things have happened - I guess. Or, you know, the present administration could just stop BORROWING TROUBLE ALREADY. From a conservation standpoint, this is a horrible idea. But it is likewise horrible from a fiscal standpoint – as what happens when you run out of land to sell? It’s borrowing against the future, and it’s selling what will no doubt be unrecoverable, even when future administrations come to their collective senses. “Hey, I know you built an office park and a MegaLomart on the land…but really, we’d like it back…. it’s to be a PARK, you see.”

We don’t need to encourage sprawl, and we don’t need to encourage poor land management – the vast “out there” doesn’t exactly have it’s own SOS, and private owners will no doubt thumb their noses at the Sierra Club (if it’s yet relevant). And who are we going to turn to to protect the land, at that point – obviously not the federal government, since they sold it off in the first place.

Beyond all this – it’s MY land. By which, of course, I mean it’s OUR land. How dare they sell it off? I certainly don’t consent. There should at the very least be a clause that give the public a right to buy out such lands before it goes to the highest bidder, to be held in trust. Maybe we can convince Bill Gates to save it for us. Stranger things have happened – I guess.

Or, you know, the present administration could just stop BORROWING TROUBLE ALREADY.

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