"Imagine you own a modest house in the countryside. You go there with your family on the weekends, fleeing the noisy and congested atmosphere of the city. Your husband and you are still paying back the mortgage you took a few years ago to purchase the house, working hard to make ends meet.
Now imagine that one day you find that the facade of your beautiful dwelling has been graffitied by a renowned artist whose paintings are considered art treasures by experts. Because it’s your property, you don’t hesitate for a second and immediately start cleaning the front of your house. A few days later, you find out you have been sued for breaking a law that protects public art of “recognized stature.” You are finally condemned to pay a large fine to the artist for erasing his work of art.
If you are thinking this could never happen in the U.S., where private property rights are allegedly protected by the Fifth Amendment, you are wrong."
...
"Let’s start from the beginning. What do I mean by private property rights?
The right to private property contains three main corollaries or dimensions: the exclusive right to use a resource; the right to the services or utility rendered by it; and the right to exchange it at any price one considers appropriate. What happens when these rights are somehow restricted, limited or flagrantly violated by law?
Before answering this question, let me introduce the concept of incentive. From an economic point of view, an incentive is a potential pecuniary reward that moves someone to do something. When economists say that incentives matter, they mean that a legal framework that establishes the right incentives will result in economic growth and prosperity. And vice versa: the wrong incentives can lead a country to the abyss of poverty."
https://fee.org/articles/developer-removes-graffiti-gets-fined-we-undermine-property-rights-at-our-peril/
Now imagine that one day you find that the facade of your beautiful dwelling has been graffitied by a renowned artist whose paintings are considered art treasures by experts. Because it’s your property, you don’t hesitate for a second and immediately start cleaning the front of your house. A few days later, you find out you have been sued for breaking a law that protects public art of “recognized stature.” You are finally condemned to pay a large fine to the artist for erasing his work of art.
If you are thinking this could never happen in the U.S., where private property rights are allegedly protected by the Fifth Amendment, you are wrong."
...
"Let’s start from the beginning. What do I mean by private property rights?
The right to private property contains three main corollaries or dimensions: the exclusive right to use a resource; the right to the services or utility rendered by it; and the right to exchange it at any price one considers appropriate. What happens when these rights are somehow restricted, limited or flagrantly violated by law?
Before answering this question, let me introduce the concept of incentive. From an economic point of view, an incentive is a potential pecuniary reward that moves someone to do something. When economists say that incentives matter, they mean that a legal framework that establishes the right incentives will result in economic growth and prosperity. And vice versa: the wrong incentives can lead a country to the abyss of poverty."
https://fee.org/articles/developer-removes-graffiti-gets-fined-we-undermine-property-rights-at-our-peril/