Developer Removes Graffiti, Gets Fined — We Undermine Property Rights at Our Peril

Imagine you own a modest house in the countryside. You are still paying back the mortgage and working hard to make ends meet. Now imagine that one day you find that your house 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.