I foresee the day when governments will have to pay the cost of intrusion in the life of ordinary citizens and compensate them for lost time due to government activity. A microscopic version of eminent domain and resulting compensation.
Examples of such lost time are street repairs that result in long traffic delays (that has been getting my goat for the last few weeks) and disruptions in retail business revenues.
This concept is already embedded in our Bill of Rights. It is the fifth amendment: 'nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.'
It will take a while before people stop saying 'the government has to do this for everyone's benefit' and start realizing that individuals are being disproportionately taxed in each event. In some cases the disruption is trivial and others it is significant.
Why don't we have this now?
At this point we are not very analytic about the role of government nor the cost of government. We just have a general attitude and have no expectation of improved quality or accountability.
This may continue for a long time, but it is not inevitable.
Examples of such lost time are street repairs that result in long traffic delays (that has been getting my goat for the last few weeks) and disruptions in retail business revenues.
This concept is already embedded in our Bill of Rights. It is the fifth amendment: 'nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.'
It will take a while before people stop saying 'the government has to do this for everyone's benefit' and start realizing that individuals are being disproportionately taxed in each event. In some cases the disruption is trivial and others it is significant.
Why don't we have this now?
At this point we are not very analytic about the role of government nor the cost of government. We just have a general attitude and have no expectation of improved quality or accountability.
This may continue for a long time, but it is not inevitable.