Politicians tax what we earn, regulate what we build and often decide what we can do with our bodies and our money.
I like to think I own myself. But politicians increasingly act as if they do.
“People should not have power over other people’s lives,” says Timothy Sandefur, author of the book “You Don’t Own Me.”
In my latest video, Sandefur challenges the attitude that “freedom belongs to the government and it can parcel it out to us.”
He starts with building permits.
“A building permit really says, you’re not allowed to build on your own property until the government gives you permission. And you have to pay for that permission. The government has essentially confiscated your land and sells it back to you in exchange for more rights.”
Such government control makes it harder to build anything.
“The Empire State Building,” Sandefur reminds me, “was built in a single year. Now it’s unimaginable that you could accomplish a project like that, or even just the paperwork, within a year.”
So vast sums of money are wasted. Take high-speed rail for example. Somehow, California has spent 16 years and $14 billion without laying down a single mile of high-speed track.
“How much would Californians have done with that colossal amount of money?” Sandefur asks.
Government forced me to get vaccinated, to pay into Social Security.
If I want to buy a gun or get a hunting license, I must ask government’s permission. I even have to get bureaucrats’ permission to start a business braiding someone’s hair.
“Two-thirds of businesses in America require some form of government permission slip for you to do your job,” complains Sandefur. “Everything from something as simple as barbering to something as complicated as engineering. If you want to earn a living, you first have to get permission. Often … this is not only unconstitutional, but a violation of the fundamental principle that you have the right to pursue happiness.”
Sandefur’s state is trying to do something about it.
“Arizona passed a universal licensing law that says that if you have an occupational license from another state and you move to Arizona, you will automatically get the equivalent license. Which only makes sense. You don’t forget how to be an architect when you move from California to Arizona.”
Where regulation is heavy, Americans aren’t waiting for politicians to simplify things. They’re just leaving.
U Haul records show people moving from blue states like California, New York and Illinois to freer states like Texas, Florida and North Carolina.
It’s a good thing that we Americans are free to move. We vote with our feet. We’re not totally stuck with the rules local politicians impose.
We libertarians like that.
“Libertarianism expresses the idea that the individual is in charge of his or her own life and has the right to achieve happiness or suffer the pains of making wrong decisions,” says Sandefur. “I’m a libertarian because I believe that freedom is the natural state of all human beings.”
“Seems right to me,” I reply, “Yet this is a tremendously unpopular political philosophy.”
“Libertarianism hasn’t been sufficiently explained to people. They think libertarianism consists of doing whatever you feel like. … The opposite is the case. A truly free society is one where people have to take a great deal of self-responsibility.”
The core idea is simple:
“You own yourself. Who else has a better right to own you or me? I’m the one who suffers if I make bad decisions. I’m the one who gets to enjoy the rewards if I make good decisions. So why should somebody else have this right to decide the direction of my own life?”
“To protect me from myself if I’m making bad decisions?” I reply.
“That’s always the excuse that’s given,” Sandefur says. “The kings never rode on top of the people because they wanted to, but because people were better off for being ridden upon.”
Let’s not buy into that.
“I don’t think government can ever really own you,” says Sandefur, “unless you let it.”
Photo by Ferdinand Stöhr on Unsplash
As Steinbeck expounds, the mind and single thought of an individual is the finest pure thing in this World. I believe it is a gift from God. From it comes innovation, commerce and the free hand of the market. Government usurps this gift in the name of “public good” through regulation and fees. Our government has lost its path, I pray that we return to the simplicity and original intent of self-governance.
The Greatest Generation
A Century of Freedom—and What Followed
Americans born in the 20th century—between 1900 and 2000—came of age during what many consider the most prosperous and transformative period any nation has experienced. It was an era defined by rapid industrial growth, expanding personal freedom, and a shared sense of social trust that is increasingly difficult to find today.
As the century began, the United States entered the industrial age at full speed. Automobiles reshaped daily life and created the modern oil industry. The Wright brothers achieved powered flight. New York City built its subway system. Roads, bridges, factories, and cities rose across the country. America was building itself—physically, economically, and culturally.
For much of that time, daily life reflected a confidence in both community and country. National parks and campgrounds were free. Fishing in ocean waters required no licenses or permits. In rural areas, doors were often left unlocked. Firearms and fishing rods sat in the back windows of pickup trucks without concern. Children walked to school or rode in truck beds without fear of legal consequences for their parents.
Discipline, rightly or wrongly by today’s standards, was considered a private family matter. Parents were not faced with jail or lawsuits because their kid got upset when they got an ass whipping. Lawsuits were rare, and government oversight into everyday life was minimal. People relied on one another more than institutions.
Many of those freedoms have since eroded.
Those born after 2000—particularly Generation Z—have little firsthand understanding of the liberties that earlier generations took for granted. Millennials, meanwhile, experienced only the tail end of that era. While they are often described as highly educated, that is yet to be seen, education alone does not equate to wisdom. Knowledge, unlike information, is acquired over time and through lived experience.
Today, the concept of “free” is widely embraced, yet rarely questioned. Nothing is truly free—not public services, not consumer benefits, not even clean air. Every cost is paid somewhere, whether through taxes, fees, permits, or higher prices passed quietly to consumers.
At the same time, Americans face mounting concerns about governance and national priorities. Trust in Washington is low across party lines, with many viewing elected officials as more focused on reelection than on long-term national stability or public safety.
Infrastructure in major U.S. cities is aging—some systems are more than a century old—and replacement costs are estimated in the trillions. Meanwhile, the nation has spent comparable sums rebuilding infrastructure abroad, often in countries that now boast more modern systems than many American cities.
There are also concerns about border security, drug trafficking, and human exploitation, alongside challenges in military recruitment. A growing percentage of young Americans fail to meet physical standards required for service, raising questions about future readiness in an increasingly unstable world.
Critics argue that for decades, policymakers from both parties prioritized the interests of wealthy donors and multinational corporations over the working class. Manufacturing jobs were outsourced in the name of lower consumer prices, but without stable, well-paying employment, many Americans struggle to afford even those cheaper goods.
This is not nostalgia for a perfect past—no era is without fault—but rather a reflection on how much has changed, and at what cost. The freedoms once enjoyed by the so-called Greatest Generation were not guaranteed; they were built, maintained, and defended. Whether future generations will reclaim them remains an open question.