Property Rights and the Road to Serfdom

On this Tuesday, August 22, 2023 broadcast, Kim Monson explores how property rights form the bedrock of American liberty. Former Colorado Natural Resources Director Greg Walcher breaks down a major state Supreme Court ruling on riverbed access, while entrepreneur Susan Kochevar reveals how government subsidies and taxation policies erode the ownership that built America’s middle class.

Colorado Supreme Court Affirms Riverbed Property Rights

Start listening at 32:30 – Hour 1

Greg Walcher, former director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources and author of “Smoking Them Out,” analyzes a landmark Colorado Supreme Court decision that rejected a fisherman’s claim to access private streambeds. The ruling confirms that in Colorado, where no waters were declared navigable at statehood, streambed access remains a matter of state law and private property rights.

Walcher explains the contradiction facing those who want federal control over waterways under the “Waters of the United States” rule while simultaneously demanding public access to private streams. He notes that thousands of miles of publicly accessible fishing streams exist on federal lands, yet some activists target private property instead. The decision reinforces that property owners retain control of their land, even when streams cross it, affirming the Homestead Act principles that built the American West.

“Well, I’d say who died and left you, King. The Homestead Act gave people the right to just settle on and perfect title to whatever land they wanted. They didn’t say not if it has a stream on it.”

Greg Walcher, Former Director, Colorado Department of Natural Resources

Government Subsidies Distort Housing Markets and Threaten Small Business

Start listening at 71:13 – Hour 2

Susan Kochevar, owner of the historic 88 Drive-In Theater, exposes how economic development subsidies harm established businesses while enabling government-favored competitors. Drawing from her 47 years in business, Kochevar explains that when government provides development money to new ventures, it distorts market signals and forces existing taxpayers to subsidize their own competition.

The discussion connects to Lakewood’s Strategic Growth Initiative, where residents attempted to limit high-density development only to have their city council negate the vote. Kochevar identifies the core problem: when developers receive government money, they no longer need viable market demand. The result is dense housing developments that strain neighborhoods while some pay no property taxes, shifting the burden to single-family homeowners already facing valuations increases of 47 percent.

Kochevar warns that current tax policies prevent young families from building wealth through homeownership while pushing them into the very high-density housing that government planners prefer. She connects this to broader concerns about Proposition HH, which would permanently eliminate TABOR refunds in exchange for temporary property tax relief.

“Listen, when you pay property taxes, you never own your property. You are only renting your property from the government. And the other thing that really irritates me is that there’s so property values rise, and automatically so do property taxes. That’s not saying that a government body actually needs more tax money.”

Susan Kochevar, Owner, 88 Drive-In Theater