On Tuesday November 7, 2001 I got a post card asking me to vote for candidates in favor of selling Antietam Lake and its watershed to Berk�s County. The post card was printed by a group called Antietam Lake 2001. As a libertarian this bothers me greatly. On the one hand I have a great respect for nature. I would rather see a man made lake then a housing development. My years in Boy Scouts have instilled in me a great love for the outdoors and the activities possible in it. I have visited Antietam Lake and marveled at how such a beautiful place could be so close to Reading. Yet, at the same time I have always believed that whenever American government, on any level, goes beyond its purpose of protecting life, liberty, and property the government is wrong and potentially dangerous.
The card wanted me to vote for the candidates who supported selling the lake and watershed to the Berks County Commissioners. The Berks County Commissioners apparently want to maintain it as a park. This seems, at first, an admirable way to spend the taxpayer money. What scares and bothers me is what happens beyond the tangible result of saving the lake. It seems to me that Antietam Lake 2001 is stealing from Berks County taxpayers. Every dime of Berks County tax money that goes to buying the lake and maintaining it will not go to legitimate functions of government. That money could be spent by individuals and businesses and could create more jobs. Families feeling the burdens of the economy�s sudden swing downwards could use that money for their day-to-day needs. That money could be used the by the Sheriff�s office to help enforce the judicial system better. Instead the money will probably be used to buy a lake. Yet, will that be helping those who need jobs, those struggling to survive on a day-to-day basis, or bring fugitives of the law to court?
The second thing that scares me about Berks County buying the land is that they will be the ones in charge of it. Now I do not know Berk�s county�s history with public parks and the environment. What I do know is that when the government gets involved in the environment it�s a recipe for disaster. The disaster I can foresee in this case is that the government only protects land as long as it�s in their best interest to. However, the interests of government change over time. Just ask the supporters of the Artic National Wildlife Refuge. What happens if they no longer want to pay the upkeep and liability on it? What if someone comes along and makes an offer for the land that they cannot refuse? Then all the money and effort spent by Antietam Lake and other groups fighting for the same goal will be for naught.
My third problem with the government buying the lake is the slippery slope the situation is creating. Every time the government deviates from protecting life, liberty or property it will deviate even further. Soon the government becomes the problem it was created to stop. The government is stealing the money of the taxpayers and giving it to special interest groups. The government is forcing people to support other people�s beliefs. While the Antietam Lake 2001 group might seem decent enough to support, where does it end? Where can it end? At some point the government stops being for the people but instead uses the people for its own means.
I�m not saying that Antietam Lake should be destroyed. What I am saying is that Antietam Lake 2001 and other organizations with the same purpose are going about the situation in the wrong way. They should not be stealing jobs, money from those who need it, or money form legitimate functions of government by using Berks County Government and its citizens as a means for their own end. If the lake is worth saving then they should impress this fact on as many people as possible. Then collect as much money as possible to save the lake. Then advocate candidates who will sell the lake to Antietam Lake 2001 for a fair price.
This is not a new concept. Libertarians have been advocating the principals of Free Market environmentalism for a long time. We support Natural Conservancy�s (http://nature.org/) idea of private money buying land to preserve forever. Two libertarians in Massachusetts formed the Liberty Land Trust with the same idea. When these groups preserve land they know that the land will be preserved for perpetuity. Not at the whim of the government. Even more important is that they are not using the government to steal from the citizens or destroy the basic principals of the government. While Antietam Lake 2001 has good intentions and a noble cause, we must be wary about the unseen consequences of their methods.
Andrew Harris President College Libertarians of Albright [email protected] http://campuslp.org/ac To learn more or see the sources for this article please visit the web page.