Rick and Kay on property rights...

Rick get hit on his vision for new roads in Texas built by private companies instead of with tax dollars. Critics say private property rights are at stake... Rick's peeps hammered back today saying that Kay voted last week for something that would expand government property ownership at the expense of private property...

Senator supports federal government taking land from private citizens

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison’s support for big-government takeovers is not limited to approving billion-dollar bailouts for Wall Street bankers, insurance companies, and the automobile industry. She also supports the federal government taking private property from American citizens.

On Sept. 24, 2009, Sen. Hutchison opposed an amendment by Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn to protect land owners and prohibit the federal government from spending $400 million during the next year to acquire additional private property. Among those who supported Sen. Coburn’s initiative to prohibit using these funds for further government acquisition were Texas’ other senator, John Cornyn, and senators from other agriculture-rich states including Arizona, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming.

“This is another example of Sen. Hutchison saying one thing in Texas and doing another in Washington,” said Texans for Rick Perry spokesman Mark Miner. “She talks about protecting property on the campaign trail in Texas, yet she votes to take property when she is in Washington. The Senator continues to run a campaign of contradictions.”

One week after supporting $400 million for federal land acquisition, Sen. Hutchison did nothing to stop the federal government from withdrawing $742 million in federal highway funding previously provided to Texas.

Over the past 10 years, Congress has appropriated more than $2 billion to increase federal land holdings. The federal government is largest landholder in the United States and now controls more than 29 percent of our nation’s land, with that amount increasing every year. The government’s land stockpile is equivalent to the total combined land of 27 states, with the government owning nearly one in three acres nationwide and one of every two in the West.

To me building roads is not a necessary evil it is a necessary good. Transportation infrastructure returns dividends and connects our people to sell goods and services to one another... to the Farm Bureau building roads just cuts a knife through their land. I am sympathetic to that and it can be tough to slice and dice property that has been in a family for generations but roads are exactly what eminent domain was meant for... as long as farmers and ranchers are compensated fairly for their land I hate to say it but we have to have new thoroughfares for commerce and industry not to mention recreation and travel. One way or the other there will be new roads in societies that are growing.

The way I see it Rick could have built the roads with tax dollars or with private dollars saving taxpayers money. Rick opted to save taxpayers money. I respect that. I think the angst about the TTC is misplaced and frankly very narrow and localized.

Right after the session ended Farm Bureau News covered Rick's eminent domain reform ceremonial bill signing ceremony and seemed pleased with it at the time...

Kay has also been in favor of a big high speed train system criss crossing Texas and carving up land... known as the Texas T Bone (link). I think the Texas T Bone is a fine idea... as is the Trans Texas Corridor... both take land for transportation use though including farm and ranch land... how does Kay think she can go around bashing Rick for his TTC plan for roads when she has her own T Bone plan for trains? By the way what is her plan for roads... does she agree with Paul Burka that we should raise the gasoline tax... otherwise how does she propose that we will pay for roads as the population of Texas doubles every few decades?