Are you living "The American Dream?"

Pursuit of Happiness

“The American Dream!” When was the last time you heard someone echo that sentiment? I don’t really want to be a Debbie Downer but today I am going to walk through some real challenges in accomplishing that 240 year old goal. Clearly, the American Dream starts with home ownership for most. I would like to talk about land ownership but honestly the percentage of Americans who own over 40 acres is insignificant. Our trusty Uncle Sam says that 65.8% of the American public owns their own home, that means that one-third of them pay rent. 

I started down this path because of my desire to maintain property rights. You show me, throughout the course of human history, when man lost property rights and did not lose liberty at the same time. In the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act is a provision to funnel another $369 million into “Conservation” programs. Yes, and on July 27, 2022 another “Conservation” movement was introduced in the Senate called the North America Grassland Conservation Act which would inject another $300 million into “conservation”.

Folks, the whole concept of “conservation” has been hijacked and the powers that be are removing your property rights in the name of saving the environment. You read the details about ANY conservation payment agreements and they are dedicated to improving wildlife habitat but never once do they mention expanding food production. That is exactly why when I hear someone talking about their ESG score (Environmental Social Governance), I remind them this actually stands for “Earth Starvation Gimmick.”

I have had a moment to pause and think about this property ownership dream that we have falsely been led to believe. We bought our place. We did not inherit it, which, in all honesty, is a cheaper way to go. Who would ever believe that if you inherit something that has been in your family for 100 years you would need to get a loan to keep it or even worse have to sell part of it off just to pay the inheritance tax. Sadly, this is happening as we speak. 

As I said earlier we are buying our place and we pay interest on the loan so that we can produce food and fiber to improve human lives. Then we pay 3% of the purchase price to the government in property taxes each year just so we can say we own it. That means that since we purchased it, we are fast approaching paying the government half of the purchase price in taxes alone. 

We know the economy in this regard is not good, and I am not whining. I am simply pointing to a bit of reality. How many times have you heard someone say, “Well they offered me some money in an easement. It's not much but it will at least pay my taxes.” Yep, it will pay your taxes and now you pay interest and you pay taxes on your land and someone else ultimately controls how you use it. 

A quick search indicates that the phrase “Taxation without representation” was first used in the U.S. in the 1760’s, clearly before there was a United States. Here is the thing: we are given the opportunity for representation but far too many simply do not exercise the rights granted by the U.S. Constitution, namely the freedom of speech. The answer to truly fulfilling The American Dream is using all of the rights granted by God that were assured by the Founding Fathers. 

I will just close with the wisdom of Ben Franklin:

“We have given you a Republic. It remains to be seen if you will be able to retain it.”