[Lnc-business] Email Ballot 2018-22: PROPERTY RIGHTS RESOLUTION

[Alicia Mattson]

I vote no.

I heart private property rights as much as the rest of you do.  Rent
is not theft.  Our platform sufficiently addresses the issue already.

But, I’m not going to be leveraged into a yes vote with:
1)  you-either-vote-with-us-or-you’re-with-the-socialists type comments, or
2)  conflations that a vote against this motion in this set of
circumstances is the equivalent of opposing the Statement of
Principles, or
3)  drama such as, “It is pathetic that a property rights resolution
would be controversial.”

It’s not that I disagree with the “whereas” clauses, to the extent
that I think I know what they mean.  I’m pretty confused exactly what
position is being advocated about “abandoned” property.  Aren’t the
socialists arguing that the property has been abandoned, so it’s fair
game to take it?  This wording could be read to suggest that abandoned
property might be an exception.  I also am uncertain what constitutes,
“unlawful usurpation of property, and incorrect characterizations of
private property”.  Does “incorrect characterizations” get into a free
speech issue?  It doesn’t matter, though…

The real yes/no question here is not whether we agree with these
ideas.  The real question posed by this motion is whether it is
productive for the LNC to adopt this resolution in these current
circumstances.

What I am clear about, however, is that this is an attempt to drag the
LNC into a personal social media fight.  If this were to pass, it
would mostly be used to run back to Facebook, drop it like a trump
card, and essentially say, “Nanny nanny boo boo!”

In order to discourage the LNC from navel-gazing activities, LP Bylaw
Article 7.11 sets a high threshold for adopting public policy
resolutions.

This is hardly the first time that I have voted against a resolution,
not even necessarily due to the content (though I do find this one
confusing), but to discourage the LNC from becoming distracted with
pointless resolutions in the future.

It's unfortunate that potential members are getting confused about
whether the party itself espouses socialist or communist ideas, but
it's very easy to point them to the adopted platform to show that we
don't.

-Alicia



On Wed, Aug 15, 2018 at 2:56 AM, Caryn Ann Harlos via Lnc-business
<lnc-business at hq.lp.org> wrote:
>    We have an electronic mail ballot.
>
>    Votes are due to the LNC-Business list by July 22, 2018 at 11:59:59pm
>    Pacific time.
>
>    Co-Sponsors:  Caryn Ann Harlos, Richard Longstreth, Steven Nekhaila,
>    Justin O’Donnell, Joshua Smith
>
>    Motion: Move to adopt the following resolution:
>
>    WHEREAS, the Libertarian Party supports the free market and therefore
>    the right of privatization of property as an extension of the
>    individual;
>
>    WHEREAS, the Statement of Principles of The Libertarian Party
>    explicitly supports the right to private property ownership, including
>    the right to do business utilizing that property as capital;
>
>    WHEREAS, the Libertarian Party strongly supports the rights of
>    individuals to own private property including land, structures, natural
>    resources and other private space through homesteading, purchase, and
>    other lawful libertarian means;
>
>    WHEREAS, ownership of private property, including but not limited to
>    land and housing, does not require continual or personal use to exist
>    as justly owned property unless otherwise abandoned;
>
>    WHEREAS, these have been part of the principles of the Libertarian
>    Party since its inception;
>
>    THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that socialist and communist property
>    ownership schemes, including the collectivization of property, unlawful
>    usurpation of property, and incorrect characterizations of private
>    property, unless otherwise voluntarily agreed by all parties, are
>    incompatible with the philosophy of the Libertarian Party.
>
>    =============================================
>
>    Important Bylaws note:
>
>    Resolutions require passage by 3/4 vote as follows:
>
>    Article 7:
>
>    ***
>
>    The National Committee may adopt public policy resolutions by a ¾ vote
>    with previous notice or by unanimous consent without previous notice.
>
>    =============================================
>
>    You can keep track of the Secretary's manual tally of votes here:
>    [1]https://tinyurl.com/lncvoting.  Votes are noted with a link to the
>    actual ballot cast for verification. You can find the time that the
>    manual tally was last updated at the bottom of the sheet.
>
>    Please notify me of any discrepancies.
>    --
>    In Liberty,
>    Caryn Ann Harlos
>    Libertarian Party and Libertarian National Committee Secretary -
>    [2]Caryn.Ann. Harlos at LP.org or Secretary at LP.org.
>    Chair, LP Historical Preservation Committee - LPedia at LP.org
>    A haiku to the Statement of Principles:
>    We defend your rights
>    And oppose the use of force
>    Taxation is theft
>
> References
>
>    1. https://tinyurl.com/lncvoting
>    2. mailto:Caryn.Ann.Harlos at LP.org