Nevada’s Cattle and the Federal Government

Get it Right: Nevada’s cattle and the federal government

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Cliven Bundy’s Nevada cattle are part of a crisis that unites western lands, the county sheriff and a governor’s power to nullify federal abuse.
These three issues have grown into a standoff with national implications.
At issue is the question, who owns the land — the federal government, or the people who form the government?

If the federal government owns America, Bundy is an obstinate, stubborn trespasser. If the people own America, they have the right to use it. No federal bureaucracy should own 84 percent of Nevada, or any other state.
America’s Northwest Ordinance of 1787 set the policy that all states entering the Union came in under the same terms. Land within a newly admitted state would be sold to those who then became its residents. Minimal federal lands for postal roads, arsenals and such were purchased from each state.
The vast majority of a state’s land would be privately owned under state administration.
Eastern states were admitted under this policy. It was ignored for western states, the poor stepsisters of the American Union. The federal government refused to sell western lands, and held vast portions of it, which were rich with natural resources. This was unethical and illegal. The federal government now unlawfully owns 35 percent of the United States, mostly in the West.
Though this illegality occurred well over a century ago, time has not rendered it less illegal. Impervious to its misconduct, the federal bully now runs states and individuals off the land it dishonestly withheld from them.

Cliven Bundy knows this history. For two decades he has grazed cattle on “federal” lands that should be state owned. He has refused to pay what he terms illegal federal grazing fees.
The issue has become explosive.
Another problem ricochets through this incendiary conflict: that of environmentalists and the endangered desert tortoise.
Bundy’s grazing areas are near, but not on, the desert tortoise’s designated natural habitat. In a process known as “sue and settle,” attorney Judson Phillips of the Tea Party Nation explains that environmental groups work quietly with the Environmental Protection Agency to take control of state lands.
They bring a lawsuit, and the EPA mounts a tame defense.
When the environmentalists win, the EPA is justified to launch new regulations that effectively strip the land from state jurisdiction.
These are the “tricks of the trade” to escalate federal authority.
Cliven Bundy and his cattle inhabit both issues — land ownership and EPA excess.
There comes a time when those who uphold the law must stand against those who trespass it. The stand against illegal federal ownership of state lands should have been waged and won more than 100 years ago.
After Ronald Reagan’s election in the early 1980s, the Sagebrush Rebellion lit the West to demand that the feds back off.
Those driving the “rebellion” could better have demanded that the feds move off.
Cliven Bundy may have decided to do just that — move the feds off. There is a western movement building under Rep. Ken Ivory (R-West Jordan) and the Utah-based American Lands Council to give misappropriated lands to their rightful state owners.
If Bundy works peacefully and within the law, he could earn public support.
 Will Bundy have the support and authority of his governor and county sheriff to protect him against the federal bully? Clark County sheriff Doug Gillespie can protect him. Governor Brian Sandoval can stand with him and begin the process to nullify unconstitutional federal authority. Will either accept the challenge?
It is a major step to stand against the federal government. That action would not be easy, swift, cheap, placid, or simple. It is, however, necessary.
The only way to stop a bully is to push back, and stick with it. Without that, the bullying continues and results in more confiscations of state authority and lands.
Someone has to start the ball rolling and stand against unfairness. Cliven Bundy may be that person.
Western states need not be Cinderella step-sisters; they have the rights to their territories, just as do eastern states. Bundy deserves the support of his governor, county sheriff, and Utah, as well.

A Parable: the Death of Ingenuity

Sometimes fiction best illustrates a concept. In the following story you can see the damages done to individuals, businesses, and communities by excessive bureaucracy.

John Jacob had an idea—a really good idea. After years of fixing broken wagon axles in his rocky Appalachian fields he had invented a flexible axle that could scale even small boulders without breaking. The device worked so well that many in the surrounding area wanted one. Gradually JohnJacob, known as JJ, conceived the idea of building a business to manufacture his wagons. He and Lucy, his supportive wife, mortgaged their farm for startup money, purchased equipment, and opened their doors under the name Wagons HO!  Word spread and orders poured in—so many that he hired a man to assist him and a woman to keep the books and order supplies. Their small community reaped benefits from JJ’s success—a small hotel was built, three companies manufacturing accessory items for his wagons started up, the railroad planned a small branch line to service the growing needs of the town, and two new cafes opened.

JJ and Lucy were optimistic about their future, and planned to expand their capacity, hire another employee or even two, and improve the design of their wagon bed.

Then the problems began. 

The Environmental Protection Agency arrived and determined that Wagons, HO! was cutting trees for lumber from restricted government lands. They fined him and JJ had to import his lumber. They said the river quality might suffer and required him to pipe water into the area, though JJ never used river water or dumped into the river. He had to pay for air quality tests and studies to prove that his business didn’t impact endangered wildlife. A cranky neighbor complained about noise, so they restricted his business hours. He spent hours doing endless paperwork, which slowed his production and cut his profits. He worried constantly about his ability to make his monthly payments to the bank. He and Lucy were always stressed and their relationship suffered.

OSHA came to inspect and determined that the forge used to make his iron rims might be defective, so they required him to build a new one. Health care officials required him to remodel his restroom and increase sewer capacity. He was forced to offer health care benefits and insurance, and deduct Social Security and unemployment.  Licensing fees and regulations created a bureaucratic maze and he had to hire a second person to do all the paperwork, which meant he couldn’t hire another craftsman. The cost of the wagons went up substantially and his profit margin went down accordingly.

Eventually, rising costs and the bureaucratic maze strangled his profit margin. Few orders came in for the increasingly expensive wagons and every month they agonized over the bank payment. Their three children gave up ball teams, music lessons and any activities with connected costs. The stress had become unbearable and their dream had become a nightmare.

The end came quietly and painfully. The bank repossessed their facility and their farm, including their house. They let the employees go and moved into a small apartment in town. One of the two new cafes folded about the same time, as did all three of the companies providing wagon accessories. The railroad cancelled its planned spur, the small hotel had few customers, and the town slid into a recession.

JohnJacob and Lucy ended up on food stamps, along with one of their employees, as there were few jobs in town. JJ was a beaten man, the resourcefulness hammered out of him. His ingenious invention died an obscure death, and farmers the region over continue to mourn their broken axles in rocky fields.

Freedom, ingenuity, prosperity—they live together, they die together.