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On topic but slightly different. Here in Raleigh NC and surrounding areas (and all across the country) there are people (both elected and not) who are pushing "smart growth" and "green space" concepts. There is a local developer who has been trying to develop a sizable area of land that HE OWNS into a high rise residential and commercial mixed use area. There is a well organized group of residents who live near by that have been fighting it for a long time on the basis of green space and that the development will cause traffic increases and problems for their neighborhood.

One of the leaders of the citizens groups called into a local talk show that was discussing the situation. After several minutes of her rantings the host simply asked her the following question...

"All I am hearing from you is that you want government to do this and you want government to do that. Why don't you and your fellow neighborhood residents pool your resources and purchase the land so you can maintain it as the green space you desire?" The lady's response was "I can't believe you would ask such a thing" and then she promptly hung up.

It is so much easier for people to whine and complain and demand that government do something with someone elses money to meet a want that people like her have than for her and her neighbors to do for themselves.

We have a greenspace fund here in Naples, Florida, comprised of tax money to purchase land to leave vacant. It hasn't been around long enough to assess how it will work.

I voted against it because I predict the program will ultimately result in:

favored landowners dumping undesirable property on the county for prices in excess of those any private purchaser would pay;

favored landowners will have their property values increased because neighboring properties are purchased by the fund; and

urban sprawl of development more broadly across the county.

While the greenspace tax seems a good idea, I'm not sure it is good policy in reality. We'll see.