The federal government should sell all the land it owns and doesn’t utilize. Forests, rivers, mountains, parks, prairies, reservoirs, aquifers, swamps, deserts, tundra and national parks should be auctioned to the highest bidders. About 80% of Nevada and 60% of Utah would go. Military bases would be retained; Indian reservations would not. Radioactive land would sell cheap.
Most national parks would continue as tourist attractions, but the management would improve.
All sources of fresh water would be privately owned.
If a corporation owns a portion of the Mississippi River, it could earn money from those who use the waters for transportation, irrigation, manufacturing, fishing, drinking or recreation.
If a river owner allows his portion of the Mississippi to become polluted, the downstream owner would sue. If the river’s mouth is polluted, the owner of that portion of the Gulf of Mexico would sue. Pollution-monitoring is cheaper than lawsuits, making lawsuits infrequent.
Most timber owners prefer steady income and do not clear-cut their trees. Most privately owned forests are cleared of debris and suffer few forest fires.
Corporations and most private owners take into account long-term prospects, including the interests of descendants, as well as short-term prospects. Government’s time horizon extends mostly to the next election.
For private parties, competition and press publicity reduce waste and wrongdoing. Having no competition, government is permeated with waste and wrongdoing, a lot of it hidden.
A matrix of private ownership would protect the environment and preserve values far better than government.
ARCHIE RICHARDS
Concord