Papers from the homeowners association indicate the Vaskos were fined for every month they violated policy by having the statue outside illegally. That fine is now more than $4,000.
There’s more. Because they haven’t paid the fine, the homeowners association is holding the statue and has just taken away the couple’s rights for them to park on the property.
“This is religious persecution. This is discrimination. Is it a losing battle to hold your ground? No.
“If you are, then we might as well all quit as Americans and say, ‘Have a nice day, bye.’”
5 comments:
"Since HOAs are very local and small, participants are often neighbors and hence have incentive to settle disagreements in a civil manner."
-Brian Schwartz, "Free-Market Alternatives To Zoning"
The Independence Institute. February 28, 2009
Sound of outrage from conservatives about the War on Christmas and the persecution of Christians in 3, 2, 1...
[sounds of crickets chirping]
Oh.
Even though HOA corporations don't have souls, or morals, or empathy, or shame, or a conscience, Bill O'Reilly, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, etc. believe them to be "persons" with more rights than natural persons.
Corporations have no social duty
Except to those who own their stock
…
Corporations are amoral
Corporate conscience is impossible
The corporation really has no choice
...
So if you want your freedom
Let the corporate seize the day
There really is no better way
-The Milton Friedman Choir
To conservatives and libertarians, corporations are a thing of beauty because they have no moral obligations to anyone other than their shareholders. Only from a corporation will a conservative accept a "I am not responsible for my amoral actions because I really have no choice" excuse.
I'm not sure when the political Right started celebrating sociopathy as the highest possible virtue, but I suspect it was in 1957, when a Hollywood-screenwriter-turned-New-York-author popularized the idea that if everyone just acts selfishly, the result is a kind of perfect equilibrium.
Thou shalt not steal.
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house,
re corporate personhood:
I'm not a Stephen Colbert fan. If Stephen Colbert had any guts at all he would have retired the O’Reillyoid character in January 2009, renamed the show the Hopebert Report, and starting aping the likes of Chris Matthews or Keith 0lbermann.
But his video about corporate personhood -- which I linked to on another thread on this blog -- is right-on-target:
www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/249055/september-15-2009/the-word---let-freedom-ka-ching
Fred P. and George S. your both right, The Fix For HOAs Won’t Come From Government;
http://www.goldwaterinstitute.org/blog/fix-hoas-wont-come-government
So what’s a better solution ?
As a good starting point towards reform, Municipalities could most often mandate in lou of HOAs but necessarily all cases (gated CIDs, CIDs with commercial property, mega sized CIDs, Condo’s), AZ style not Florida style special districts. Because they provide the same primary goals as States require to manage and maintain the commonly owned portions, street rights of way etc. of CIDs. While still preserving the constitutional rights and protections of its owners with the added benefit of costing about half of what HOA governance costs.
After all HOA governance is not necessary to enforce Cc&Rs nor protects or preserves property values. Since the HOA non–profit corporate entity unlike a business corporate entity that has shareholders. Doesn’t provide any shield from the personal asset loss of a members home. In fact it’s the opposite, HOAs in AZ eliminate the members Homestead Exemption asset protection first. Then forever liens the members housing property as collateral to satisfy any and all debts and liabilities that the HOA Board and even others outside of the HOA causes.
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