TThe
REAP Report - "The Landowner: What Did He Buy?"
Too
often in the modern world there is a seemingly endless rush
to correct all wrongs, be they real or imagined, and to solve
all problems through enacting new laws.
And
in many cases these new laws, while maybe correcting one problem
create other problems, sometimes, far greater problems.
Society
functions best when people work together and do the right thing
by one another.
In
essence by basically following God's Commandment "To do unto
others as you would have done unto yourself."
And
government governs best when it governs least.
A
case in point is the following:
When
he bought his land
He thought he bought the
Trees that were on it
Now he needs a permit to cut them.
When
he bought his land
He thought his animals
Could graze and roam freely
Now he must keep them
Penned or tied up
Or have them shot.
When
he bought his land
He thought he had a right to use the water
That ran through it
Now they want him to
Pay for the rain that falls from the sky.
When
he bought his land
He thought he could build his house on it
Now he must pay a fee and get an Environmental Impact Assessment.
When
he bought his land
He thought he could burn his household rubbish
Now they tell him he must pay to have it buried in the landfill.
Now
he often wonders just what he did buy --- Something or Nothing?
So
when we ask Parliament to pass new laws it's important to see
both sides of the coin first. For each new law costs somebody
something.
***Note:
The Landowner: "What Did He Buy" are the words of a farmer
in New Zealand. However they could apply most anywhere - here
in the Cook Islands or New Zealand.
Cook
Islands News, 31st March 2003
