The following was written by a friend, Mike Hobbs, president of the Denver Chapter for Trout Unlimited. As someone who works closely on these issues, he brings a unique and much needed perspective to the issue of land use/ownership. He touches on a lot of important and, often overlooked, issues that are tied to the institutionalized theft of public lands.

Our unique national treasures are in peril. The US government spends more money than it takes in each day and has been doing so for the past 7 years. The shortfall is covered by printing bonds and selling them with the promise of risk free interest. The average savings rate of US citizens is hovering around zero, yet consumers are exhorted each day to spend and save the economy. Social Security is approximately 40% under funded in the coming 40 years. Medicare shortfalls are estimated at 3-4 trillion dollars ($3,500,000,000,000). These entitlement program deficits never appear in budget calculations. Congress has cut Forest Service funding relentlessly, and new user fees do not cover the gap. The baby boomer retirement wave has just begun and will not crest for another 10 years. Life expectancies continue to rise. Many members of younger generations have never been out of range of WIFI access and have no interest in the outdoors. This is evidenced by declining hunting and fishing license fees across the west.

Politicians studiously decline to acknowledge these issues and will not do so unless the public or the media demand it. This short term mentality spells the end for our public lands. The Pombo initiatives of 2005 were just the beginning. Assuming that congress will not stand by while the aged go without basic needs, there will soon be a critical demand to raise cash. Having exhausted the demand for US Treasuries by saturation and lowering interest rates, the US will be facing bankruptcy sometime in the next 20 years. There is only one painless way to solve this problem and that is to liquidate America’s greatest asset. Billionaires and sovereign wealth funds flush with free trade cash and calls on US Treasuries will line up to bid on property along the shore of Yellowstone Lake. Yosemite Valley will make a great location for an exclusive community featuring golf, fishing and sporting clays with incredible views. In short, the most beautiful places in our country will be owned by economic royalty and the public will be locked out. I think I hear Teddy Roosevelt groaning in his grave. As O’Reilly is so fond of saying, “Where am I going wrong here?”

This entry was posted on Monday, April 21st, 2008 at 11:20 am and is filed under environmental injustice, politics. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site. Your comments will be moderated but will appear as soon as humanly possible.