Dumb Laws from other countries!

[Spookymufu]

as far as banks are concerned you dont really own the car until it's paid off, until then you're just renting it from them....same with houses, I get ticked when HOA's threaten to foreclose on you, what gives them the right??

[ilovemichaelmyers]

I'm talking about owning everything outright, I own my home and two vehicles. No payments, it's cheaper that way, don't have to pay interest. I would NEVER finance a car or house but I know that some people have to because they don't have all of the money upfront and the banks know that and take advantage. I just wish we could live without depending on someone for electricity, gas, etc.

[Andybev01]

But as you stated earlier you never truly own property because of taxes and licensing fees, etc.

If you could get one of these: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allodial_title , you'd be golden.

As far as living off of the grid, solar, a small wind turbine and a well would suffice.

It can be done, but it's a lot of effort.

[MacPhantom]

Well, yeah, if you own your house you still have to pay property taxes, because that money goes to upkeep on the roads that lead from your house to everywhere else, and to pay for the police who keep people from breaking into your house and stealing everything you own, and for the firemen who will spray water on your house if it catches fire. Those taxes pay for public schools for your children, and for other children in the area, so they aren't roaming the streets getting into trouble. They pay for libraries so you have access to information if you want it, and for traffic lights so you can drive reasonably safely. Paying taxes doesn't mean you aren't free; it means you are part of a society.

On one side of the freedom scale, you have total freedom, aka anarchy, aka chaos, where the biggest and strongest take what they want, beat the tar out of anyone who gets in their way, and are free to do whatever they choose. On the other side, you have totalitarian rule, where you have no freedom, and those in power make all the rules, take what they want, and beat the tar out of anyone who gets in their way. Somewhere in the middle, you have America, where we all get together and agree to a set of rules allowing the most number of people the maximum number of freedoms and the fairest balance of power sharing. Sure, it isn't always perfect, but at least we've got rules we can tinker with in order to form a more perfect union.