Theme: Constitutional Order

—-“How would P-Law handle toll roads. More specifically, our current highway into Houston is a regular tax funded highway, with an oversized median between the two directional lanes… however they’re in the process of building a new toll road in the median & converting the current highway into a feeder road with all the hassles of stop lights. At present, it’s a 45 minute non stop trip on a publically paid for highway. How would P-law handle the govt changing our current highway into a toll road?”—Clinton McLaggan

[I]t’s a debatable and technical point, however, P-Constitution prohibits toll roads. While at first blush it would appear possible under natural law, its a violation of two criteria: first, the only necessary right of a commons – of movement in two dimensional space, and secondly: it’s open to rent seeking – a fee without contributing to production. In other words if you want a road you can build one, but you can’t create such a commons and extract tolls for it. Same for bridges. Not for ferries. NOTE: One of P’s prohibitions is non-exclusory use of property. Meaning you can’t wall someone out of access to territory. This is a very old common law tradition. If you want to wall something off you have to provide passage along the borders.

—-“How would P-Law handle toll roads. More specifically, our current highway into Houston is a regular tax funded highway, with an oversized median between the two directional lanes… however they’re in the process of building a new toll road in the median & converting the current highway into a feeder road with all the hassles of stop lights. At present, it’s a 45 minute non stop trip on a publically paid for highway. How would P-law handle the govt changing our current highway into a toll road?”—Clinton McLaggan

[I]t’s a debatable and technical point, however, P-Constitution prohibits toll roads. While at first blush it would appear possible under natural law, its a violation of two criteria: first, the only necessary right of a commons – of movement in two dimensional space, and secondly: it’s open to rent seeking – a fee without contributing to production. In other words if you want a road you can build one, but you can’t create such a commons and extract tolls for it. Same for bridges. Not for ferries. NOTE: One of P’s prohibitions is non-exclusory use of property. Meaning you can’t wall someone out of access to territory. This is a very old common law tradition. If you want to wall something off you have to provide passage along the borders.