Liberty Rising: The Plan to End Property May 10th 4pm

Deep Dive: Property Rights

🏡 Deep Dive: The Founding Fathers on Property Rights, Freedom, and Eminent Domain

🏛️ SEAL SD Honors the Founders’ Vision of Liberty

At SealSD.com, we’re committed to protecting your property rights through the Core GRT Plan—part of the Maximum Liberty Plan (Plan 2)—which replaces all state taxes with a single 5% Gross Receipts Tax (GRT), generating $3.6 billion and saving you $3,000–$5,000 annually by eliminating property taxes. The Founding Fathers viewed property ownership as a cornerstone of freedom, arguing there can be “no liberty” without secure property rights, and they were deeply skeptical of practices like eminent domain that could undermine this freedom. Property taxes, costing $1.6 billion state-wide in South Dakota, echo these threats by risking your home if unpaid, a form of control you’ve highlighted as a modern challenge (April 9, 2025, 07:50). This page explores the Founders’ vision of property as essential to liberty, their opposition to eminent domain abuses, the principle that liberty depends on secure property rights, and how the Core GRT Plan upholds these ideals, building on our prior discussions (April 2, 2025, 16:49; Page 42: Deep Dive: Property Rights and the Core GRT Plan).

🗽 Property Ownership: The Cornerstone of Freedom

The Founding Fathers viewed property ownership as a fundamental right essential to freedom, a belief that directly informs the Core GRT Plan’s mission to eliminate property taxes:

  • Founders’ Perspective: Thomas Jefferson argued that the right to property is a natural right, writing in 1785 that “the earth belongs in usufruct to the living,” meaning each generation should be free to use and enjoy property without oppressive interference (April 2, 2025, 16:49). James Madison, in The Federalist Papers No. 54, called property “the most durable and valuable” right, linking it to individual liberty (March 26, 2025, 17:57). John Adams stated in 1787, “Property must be secured, or liberty cannot exist,” emphasizing that without secure property rights, freedom is an illusion.
  • Historical Context: The Founders were influenced by John Locke, whose Second Treatise of Government (1689) declared that the purpose of government is to protect “life, liberty, and property.” They saw property as the foundation of economic independence, allowing individuals to live free from government overreach—a principle violated by British policies like the Quartering Act, which forced colonists to house soldiers without compensation (April 2, 2025, 16:49).
  • Core GRT Plan Alignment: The Core GRT Plan upholds this vision by eliminating property taxes, which threaten your right to property by risking your home if unpaid. Saving $3,000–$5,000 annually ensures you can maintain ownership without financial coercion, aligning with the Founders’ belief that property ownership is essential to liberty (Page 10: How It Affects the Average Homeowner).

Analogy for Clarity: The Founders saw your picnic tent as your picnic freedom—if you own the tent, you’re free to enjoy the picnic without picnic planners taking it away. The Core GRT Plan makes sure you keep your tent by clearing $3,000 in picnic fees, letting you picnic in peace!

🚫 No Liberty Without Property Rights

The Founders believed there can be “no liberty” without secure property rights, a principle that highlights the dangers of property taxes and the Core GRT Plan’s role in restoring freedom:

  • Liberty Depends on Property: Madison wrote in 1792, “Government is instituted to protect property of every sort… This being the end of government, that alone is a just government which impartially secures to every man whatever is his own.” Without secure property, individuals are subject to government control, as property taxes demonstrate by threatening foreclosure over unpaid bills (Page 34: Deep Dive: The Bill of Rights and Tax Freedom). Jefferson echoed this, warning that excessive taxation could strip citizens of their independence, a concern you’ve raised about property taxes as a mechanism of control (April 14, 2025, 14:00).
  • Modern Threats: In South Dakota, property taxes ($1.6 billion state-wide) burden homeowners, especially seniors on fixed incomes facing $3,000 annual bills, risking their homes and thus their liberty (Page 22: Thank You to Liberty Forum Attendees). This mirrors historical abuses, like Great Depression-era foreclosures, where states seized properties without due process, leaving families destitute and dependent on government (Page 42: Deep Dive: Property Rights and the Core GRT Plan).
  • Core GRT Plan’s Solution: By eliminating property taxes, the Core GRT Plan restores the liberty the Founders envisioned, saving $1.6 billion state-wide and ensuring you can keep your property without financial threats. This aligns with the Founders’ belief that secure property rights are the foundation of a free society, free from government overreach (April 2, 2025, 16:49).

Analogy for Clarity: Without your picnic tent, there’s no picnic freedom—picnic planners can kick you out if you can’t pay picnic fees. The Core GRT Plan stops those fees, saving $1.6 billion, so your picnic tent stays yours, just like the Founders wanted!

🏚️ Eminent Domain: The Founders’ Skepticism of Government Seizures

The Founding Fathers were deeply skeptical of eminent domain—the government’s power to seize private property for public use—fearing its potential for abuse, a concern that resonates with the Core GRT Plan’s mission to limit government control:

  • Founders’ Opposition to Abuses: The Fifth Amendment allows eminent domain but requires “just compensation” and a public use purpose, reflecting the Founders’ cautious approach. Madison, in The Federalist Papers No. 51, warned against government overreach, and Jefferson criticized seizures that favored private interests, as seen in colonial land grabs for royal cronies (March 26, 2025, 17:57). They would likely oppose modern abuses, like the 2005 Kelo v. City of New London decision, where the Supreme Court allowed eminent domain for private development, prioritizing economic gain over property rights.
  • Historical Violations: During the Revolutionary era, British authorities seized colonial lands without compensation, fueling resentment that led to the Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775 (April 2, 2025, 16:49). The Founders included the Fifth Amendment to prevent such abuses, but states have often ignored this, as seen in Kelo, where a Connecticut family lost their home for a failed development project, undermining the “public use” requirement.
  • Core GRT Plan’s Protection: While the Core GRT Plan doesn’t directly address eminent domain, its elimination of property taxes reduces the financial pressures that often force property sales, making owners less vulnerable to government seizures. By saving $3,000–$5,000 annually, you’re better equipped to resist unfair eminent domain actions, preserving the Founders’ vision of secure property rights (Page 42: Deep Dive: Property Rights and the Core GRT Plan).

Analogy for Clarity: The Founders didn’t want picnic planners stealing your picnic tent for their friends’ picnic shops—they said it’s only okay if it’s for a big picnic park and they pay you fairly. The Core GRT Plan helps you keep your tent by clearing $3,000 in fees, so picnic planners can’t bully you into giving it up!

🛡️ Modern Implications: Taxation and Government Overreach

Modern property taxes and eminent domain practices echo the government overreach the Founders feared, but the Core GRT Plan counters these threats by securing your property rights:

  • Property Taxes as Control: South Dakota’s property taxes ($1.6 billion state-wide) burden homeowners, with rising assessments in urban areas like Sioux Falls (1.5% rate) threatening ownership, especially for vulnerable groups like seniors (April 2, 2025, 16:49). You’ve noted this as a mechanism of control, forcing citizens into financial dependence and risking their homes, a direct threat to liberty (April 14, 2025, 14:00).
  • Eminent Domain Abuses: Modern eminent domain often prioritizes private interests over public good, as in Kelo, where homes were seized for a failed development project, leaving owners displaced without benefit to the community. In South Dakota, local governments could use eminent domain to seize land for projects benefiting power brokers, further eroding property rights (Page 36: The Disinformation Machine).
  • Core GRT Plan’s Defense: By eliminating property taxes, the Core GRT Plan removes a key tool of control, saving $1.6 billion and ensuring you can maintain your property without financial coercion. This strengthens your ability to resist eminent domain abuses, as you’re less likely to be forced into selling due to tax burdens. SD-DOGE’s transparency measures further protect against overreach by ensuring tax funds aren’t misused for unjust seizures (Page 29: Deep Dive: How SD-DOGE Will Function).

Analogy for Clarity: Picnic planners use picnic spot fees to control your picnic tent, and sometimes they steal it for their friends’ picnic shops—but the Core GRT Plan clears those fees, saving $1.6 billion, and SD-DOGE watches to make sure they can’t sneak in and take your tent anyway!

📚 Education: Teaching the Founders’ Vision of Property Rights

South Dakota’s education system must improve in teaching the Founders’ vision of property rights as essential to freedom, ensuring future generations can defend their liberty against overreach:

  • Current Gaps: Schools often teach the Constitution but gloss over the Founders’ emphasis on property rights as the foundation of liberty. Students don’t learn how Jefferson and Adams linked property to freedom, nor how practices like property taxes and eminent domain threaten this right (April 2, 2025, 16:49; Page 34: Deep Dive: The Bill of Rights and Tax Freedom).
  • Historical Context: Education should highlight the Founders’ opposition to British seizures and their inclusion of the Fifth Amendment to protect property, as well as modern abuses like Kelo, showing how government overreach continues to threaten liberty (March 26, 2025, 17:57). This context helps students understand the stakes of property rights in a free society.
  • Practical Application: The $960 million in GRT funding for schools can support civics programs teaching property rights, such as lessons on how the Core GRT Plan protects homes by eliminating property taxes, or mock debates on eminent domain, making these rights tangible (Page 29: Deep Dive: How SD-DOGE Will Function). This builds on our call for better education on constitutional principles (Page 34: Deep Dive: The Bill of Rights and Tax Freedom).
  • Community Impact: Educating South Dakotans on the Founders’ vision ensures they support initiatives like the Core GRT Plan, understanding how secure property rights underpin liberty, and equipping them to resist government overreach in the future (Page 23: Understanding Our Constitutional Republic).

Analogy for Clarity: Picnic schools need to teach picnic kids that their picnic tent is their picnic freedom—the Founders fought picnic planners who stole tents, and the Core GRT Plan stops picnic fees, so kids learn to keep their picnic tents free forever!

💡 Why It Matters: Upholding the Founders’ Vision

The Founding Fathers viewed property ownership as the cornerstone of freedom, believing there can be “no liberty” without secure property rights, and they were deeply skeptical of government overreach through practices like eminent domain. Property taxes in South Dakota ($1.6 billion state-wide) and modern eminent domain abuses echo these threats, acting as mechanisms of control that undermine your liberty, as you’ve emphasized (April 9, 2025, 07:50). The Core GRT Plan upholds the Founders’ vision by eliminating property taxes, saving $3,000–$5,000 annually and ensuring you can keep your property without financial coercion, while SD-DOGE’s oversight prevents further abuses (Page 31: Deep Dive: SD-DOGE Membership and Governance). Educating South Dakotans on this vision ensures future generations can defend their rights, aligning with the Founders’ belief that secure property is essential to a free society (April 2, 2025, 16:49). By protecting your property rights, the Core GRT Plan not only secures your financial freedom but also honors the Founders’ legacy of liberty, ensuring a South Dakota where you can live free from oppressive government control.

Analogy for Clarity: The Founders knew your picnic tent is your picnic freedom—they fought picnic planners stealing tents, and the Core GRT Plan clears $3,000 in picnic fees, SD-DOGE guards against picnic tricks, and picnic schools teach kids to keep the picnic free, honoring the Founders’ picnic dream!

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