Tue, 03 Mar 2009

In Old Town, The Sex Shop Is a Kiss-Off

I was just waiting for another one of these, as it ties in quite nicely with my more recent rant on the recession getting personal. How's that? Glad you asked ...

Based on general political ideology, I'd be willing to bet my bottom dollar that nearly all of the folks that have been whining about the mortgage bailout are absolutely opposed in principle to eminent domain. But I'll bet they're not opposed to zoning laws, and further, I'll bet most of them are opposed to sex shops of any variety. They'd be among the horrified passersby in Alexandria.

But why? If you own your property, isn't it your right to use it as you see fit? If the choice faced by Mr. Zarlenga was foreclosure or renting to Le Tache, would you rather have effectively stolen his money than allow him to proceed with the rental? If a sex shop degrades the value of your neighborhood, how much more would a bunch of foreclosures? If it's appropriate for the government to tell you how to use you land, why is it not kosher for them to step in and help you pay for it?

How much did zoning laws and restrictive covenants contribute to the real estate bubble? How many commercial foreclosures could be prevented by eliminating zoning?

The baseline: why is it your property when the bills come due, but community property when you try to use it?

To those worried about the encroachment of socialism, methinks your enemy has been here a lot longer than you suspect, although it goes by a slightly different name. And you, in fact, are the ones that opened the door and invited it in. Deal with it.

To many in Old Town Alexandria, the sex shop that opened recently on King Street is nothing short of scandalous, a historical desecration just blocks from the boyhood home of Robert E. Lee.

(link) [Washington Post]

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