THE VIRGINIA governor's race is heating up, and there are signs that Democratic candidate Tim Kaine may be on the verge of melting down. Kaine's latest outrageous claim is that as governor he will reduce traffic congestion, not by investing in infrastructure to meet the growing demand, but by stopping the growing demand. The plan speaks to a larger attitude opposed to the free market and in favor of more government control of private property.
Kaine's new ad says "As Governor, I'll give your community more power to stop out of control development that causes traffic." Development causes traffic the same way books cause reading or the way gum causes chewing. Development is merely a product of people's desire to move to an area. So to translate Kainespeak, he is saying to homebuyers, "As governor, I'll give your government more power to tell you where you can and cannot live" or to developers, "how you can and cannot use your property." Kaine's plan, besides being an assault on Virginians' freedom to own property, would make it nearly impossible for lower to middle income families to ever own a home in the suburbs of rapidly growing areas like Northern Virginia or Tidewater and would make it more expensive for current homeowners to keep their home. While this may be good for wealthy Northern Virginia liberals who want to whisk to work in their Lexuses without encountering any plebeians or minorities along the way, it certainly isn't good for the rest of Virginia.
Whenever you abandon the free market, lots of bad things start to happen. If you use government to restrict the housing market, other market forces take over, namely the dynamic of supply and demand. If the government has to force a developer not to build, it means that the demand for housing in that area will exceed the supply. Thus, anyone who has taken high school economics will tell you that house prices will rise drastically. When this happens, middle and lower income families who want to move to the suburbs won't be able to afford to do so. In addition, if families who already live in a suburb see their house prices go up 50 percent, their property tax bill will also rise by the same percentage, adding an unnecessary financial burden and possibly forcing some families to move to lower-priced neighborhoods from a home they already own, simply because they can't afford the tax bill.
But the desire to stop people from building on property they rightfully own is one that transcends Kaine's campaign and has already infected many local governments. It has happened in Albemarle County, with that county's embrace of "smart growth" -- an idea that turned out not to be very smart.
To encourage "smart growth," the county imposed restrictions on where and how developers could build. As a result, the median home price in Albemarle was $299,000 in 2004, according to the Charlottesville/Albemarle Association of Realtors, making it nearly impossible for middle income families to afford a house there. As a result, population has moved even further away meaning that people face longer commutes and waste more gas than if Albemarle simply allowed the free market to run its course.
Government control or private property can get even more sinister. Last week in Louisa county, a man was charged with criminal contempt for adding siding to his house. According to the Daily Progress, Peter F. Blackman was banned by a judge from renovating his historic home "without approval from the National Park Service." According to a contractor, the home's siding could no longer protect it from the elements, but evidently, to replace it without government approval will land you in court. This begs the question, who owns your property; Kaine, the Charlottesville City Council, the National Park Service or you?
The right to own property is the most basic right. Therefore, the most basic question of this election is who do you want to control your property: you or the government. If you answered "the government," Tim Kaine is the candidate for you.
Herb Ladley is a Cavalier Daily associate editor. He can be reached at hladley@cavalierdaily.com
Read More
PATEL: Personal development courses support students beyond the gradebook
By Heer Patel | 3 days agoThe University must rethink its approach to education beyond traditional major-specific requirements and mandate personal development courses.
EDITORIAL: Commercialization threatens U.Va.’s educational mission
By Editorial Board | 4 days agoAfter all, measuring the University’s worth in terms of accrued capital, operational efficiency and numerical rankings molds this space into just another cookie-cutter institution.
YOUNIS: Why every U.Va. student should say yes to English
By Ayat Younis | January 9, 2025Every student at the University, regardless of their primary field of study, can professionally and academically benefit from engaging with the English department.
