Neglected houses are an adverse impact on the environment

From a comment to the NPR report: Should Banks Maintain Abandoned Properties?:

Industries that cause pollution or take natural resources should be required to pay a fee as compensation for damage done or value taken. We can find such a policy mentioned in most basic economics texts.

If we believe that natural resource wealth belongs to all, then the fee proceeds ought to go to all people.

If we believe in democratic principles, then we ought to set the fee just high enough to cause industries to put the right amount of effort into reducing environmental impacts. When most people feel that there is not too much pollution or too rapid extraction of natural resources, then we will know that the fees are set at the right amount.

Such a policy of requiring payment to the people by those who cause adverse impact on the environment could readily be applied to this problem of neglected houses adversely impacting neighborhoods. If most people feel that too many properties are being neglected, to the detriment of the community at large, we could charge a fee to those who hold neglected properties... higher fees for properties that more people point to as blighted. This will give these property owners incentive to keep up their properties and/or find renters or buyers. This will benefit the entire community.

With fee proceeds shared equally with all, no one will live in extreme poverty.

Our present system is one that has many vacant properties and many homeless people. But within this alternative paradigm, all people will have income from their shared 'natural resource wealth stipend'. More property owners will want to offer their property for rent or sale, rather than leave it vacant and risk being liable for a 'neglected properties' fee.

Societies develop ideas of property rights in part to ensure that wealth is put to productive use. Property rights were never defended by political philosophers as a way to give wealthy people a place to park their money. If we respect private property rights to the extent that we allow banks to hold dozens of vacant and neglected houses in a neighborhood, we need to also respect public property rights to allow a neighborhood community to protect itself against the adverse impact caused by a glut of vacant houses.

When those who hold property are more motivated to market their properties, low income people will be more able to find housing. The housing stock will be utilized more efficiently to house people who need shelter. Subjective experience of wealth will increase

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Wed May 02 2012 11:48:28 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time)