Big Oil’s plot to conquer Colorado

Here’s how it would work.

Let’s start with the goofy political theory behind this thing. It’s a classic piece of self-contradictory libertarian dogma called “regulatory takings.” The idea is that whenever the state alters regulations in a way that infringes on profits, property owners deserve compensation based on how the market value changes.

Thus the language of the Colorado initiative would add a phrase to the state constitution dealing with eminent domain, saying that private property shall not be “reduced in fair market value by government law or regulation” without compensation.

This is a moral argument that property owners — specifically oil and gas companies, who drafted the amendment and are paying for a big agitprop campaign on its behalf — have a right to the current market value of whatever they happen to own. To many Americans, that no doubt sounds pretty fair — indeed, the Colorado constitution already stipulates that the state must pay “just compensation” whenever it takes someone’s property outright.