The Urban Homesteader's Nightmare; Or Why Voting is Force

Last year about this time I wrote a piece about some happenings in the tiny town of Madison, ME. Essentially the town declared itself food sovereign (and touted itself as business friendly), and then months later went on to pass an ordinance essentially banning backyard homesteads on less than 1.5 acres. If this doesn't sour you, the fact that less than 2% of the town residents voted, coupled with the fact that no one was grandfathered in, meaning even if you had a "livestock" animal for 12 years, you had to get rid of it. (Never mind the fact that plenty of people keep goats without actually using them like livestock, at which point, we must question the difference between a goat and a dog.)

I followed the situation as best I could from afar, but the news stopped reporting in August. I reached out to one of the individuals who was referenced in each of the articles, and he was kind enough to give me almost an hour of his time discussing some of the direct happenings behind the passing of the ordinance.

It's a frightening story of how voting can be abused by those in power to enforce their will and protectionist policies on those around them. Give this podcast a listen and share it with your friends.

Direct download here.