Customer Reviews

Mugged by the State: Outrageous Government Assaults on Ordinary People and their Property

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You could be "Mugged by the War on Drugs" because the government wants to raise revenue. Fitzgerald quotes "Steven Kessler, who once headed the district attorney's asset forfeiture unit in the Bronx, New York. `The focus is no longer on combating crime. It's on fundraising.'" You could be "Mugged by Eminent Domain" because the government wants to take your property and give it to someone else. Fitzgerald explains their reasoning: "under the banner of `redevelopment,' many government officials now interpret public good to mean the advancement of any business interest that creates more jobs and tax revenue than the business, home, or neighborhood that it replaces."

The author devotes his largest chapter to people "Mugged for the Environment." The remaining chapters cover government incursions into people's livelihoods in order to help the handicapped, maintain safe workplaces, and protect consumers. Victims lose property, years of their lives, and faith in justice. The bad guys are government officials enforcing unreasonable regulations either because they are drunk with power or the tools of third parties seeking to transfer property to themselves. The good guys are victims who fight to keep their property even if they only score Pyrric victories after lengthy and expensive legal battles. Good guys also include legal groups such as the Institute for Justice.

Fitzgerald rejects the criticism that these tales are isolated. He claims that "It Could Happen to You." "I believe", he writes, "a strong case can be made that these anecdotes show the emergence of clear and disturbing patterns, and from these patterns we can discern systemic problems and abuses that require legislative remedies." In conclusion he outlines proposals for reform. Exercise your property rights to buy this book and prepare to be shocked.

Mugged by the State, by Randall Fitzgerald, is a series of succinct descriptions of cases in which government agencies destroyed small businesses and seized homes, cars, and other property from everyday people. In each case where the victim did break the law, it was a minor, technical violation that should not have triggered such a draconian reaction.
Each vignette in Mugged by the State is based on a true story that Fitzgerald wrote for Readers Digest.
Consider the case of Fred and Nancy Cline. They established one of the last remaining family farms in the country, only to have the Army Corps of Engineers issue a cease and desist order threatening them with ongoing fines of $25,000 a day for each day they were in violation of one of its wetlands regulations, plus one year in prison. After a second cease and desist order and ruinous legal expenses, the Army Corps of Engineers demanded they restore the entire farm to its preagricultural state. To intimidate the Clines, the Corps of Engineers began flying black helicopters over the property, only a very short distance from the ground.
It's clear that a person doesn't own what he doesn't control. When government at any level, Federal, state or local, denies a property owner the right to control what belongs to him, the government has seized ownership. Had they not received help from an unexpected source, the government would own the Clines' farm.
The Clines talked to a former chief of the Army Corps of Engineers' regulatory division who had played a major role in writing the portion of the Clean Water Act the Corps and DOJ accused the Clines of violating. The former chief of the regulatory division said everything the Clines did was legal. DOJ and the Army ultimately dropped the matter. Sadly, not everyone in the Clines' position is so fortunate.
Just as Federal and state agencies perform regulatory takings, zoning and other local regulations can be used to deny people ownership of land they own and pay taxes on. If you've been fortunate enough to avoid problems with the zoning board, it may come as a surprise to you that the Hood River Co., Oregon planning department prevented Tom and Doris Dodd from building their retirement home on land they had purchased for $33,000; zoning had lowered its value to $700. (The Dodds lost their lawsuit.)
Some may pass off the instances Fitzgerald documents as isolated anecdotes, but the reality is that many government officials really do face incentives to behave in the same fashion that led to the "muggings" recounted in Mugged by the State. Most "muggings" receive very little attention, and only the more fortunate victims get their property back.
And although Fitzgerald doesn't mention it every time, the victim's Constitutional rights to just compensation (5th Amendment), due process (5th or 14th), or freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures (4th) were violated in most of the anecdotes included in the book.
An entire chapter of the book is devoted to asset forfeiture, which allows many Federal agencies (and some state governments) to seize property they allege was involved in certain felonies. The authorities don't have to investigate or prosecute the owner, or even allege the owner consented to criminal activity or knew the property was being used in crime. In general, any private property is subject to forfeiture: typically real estate, money, cars, boats, and jewelry. Indeed, most of the alleged crimes used as triggers for forfeiture do not lead to any arrests or convictions. The Justice Department's own statistics show the vast majority of alleged crimes leading to forfeiture never lead to an arrest or a conviction.
The suffering this book documents is a very strong case for reforming eminent domain, zoning, asset forfeiture, the ADA, occupational licensing, and other practices. Mugged by the State will convince you that such practices have some very real problems that need to be corrected. The book makes for easy but informative reading material on a growing problem.

This book is stunning. First of all, it is both chilling and brilliant, such as when the author describes interviewing one of the book's subjects when suddenly, like right out of a movie--a ubiquitous black helicopter juts over the horizon and approaches menacingly until it hovers right outside the window! There are surpises galore in this masterpiece of what should alarm and awaken Americans to a government that can at times be arrogant and intimidating. In short, this book is a MUST-READ and should be included in college American history and poli-sci courses. Also, you will appreciate that this is not shoddy, conspiracy-ridden material, but the real thing. MUGGED BY THE STATE author Randall Fitzgerald is an experienced journalist whose cases here have been thoroughly fact-checked. I also liked how the self-help portion of the book is invaluable because it offers you solid how-to guidance and resources should you be "mugged by the state." An awesome book!

You don't seem to hear the phrase "It's a free country" much anymore. And no wonder. It isn't! As you would expect from a Reader's Digest writer, Fitzgerald does a succinct job of detailing one government horror after another. Americans are under siege by politicians and their agents at every level, and any attempt at justice is expensive and unpredictable since the courts are no more consistent in their defense of liberty than any other branch of government. It doesn't matter whether the politicians in charge are Republican or Democrat, conservative or liberal, government grows and liberty shrinks under all regimes.

Most sadly, few Americans seem to care about the erosions of freedom, so long as they are not themselves under attack. They support the tragedy of drug prohibition, and the thefts which emminent domain, zoning, and environmental regulations facilitate. Fitzgerald notes how commonplace it is for a company like Costco to demand that cities take property from landowners and give them to the companies to build new club locations. The author, like James Bovard, is a good chronicler of the end of freedom in America.

This lady obviously cannot see the proverbial "forest...." She clearly misses that the laws she cites are where the muggings begin.Most of these laws if adequately challenged would prove to be unconstitutional and would be struck down. Of course Ms. W
and her ilk are quite transparent and their views on any subject under the sun can easily be predicted, in this case: "the Constitution is an evolving document..." that is meant to serve an ever growing and intrusive government and has little to do with individual rights. Hey, where she chooses to reside says it all!

This book reports accurate accounts of government legislation directly aimed at releasing individuals of their property and rights for their own financial welfare, as they see fit. I am appauled at the poor ethics of our government officials! It appears that it's fine to release individuals of their livelihoods as long as "theirs" isn't threatened. Time and time again, this book gives exact examples of the government running scared only when it seems it might cost them their jobs. I find this greedy behavior sickening! Thanks for opening my eyes.

Out of control lawmakers and bureaucrats have created a minefield of rules and regulations which are destroying our ability to create jobs, cost Americans millions annually and threaten national security...none of which governments at any level seem to understand.
The violations of our Bill of Rights by governments and their agencies has nearly rendered this document a relic. Read the book, it's an eye-opener.

This is my third book on how the governement wants to take things from the little people if you are not an elitist with large capital and tax generated revenue to throw their way you had better be careful. I have heard all my life America is the greatest place to live, um its not communist China but get ready its coming if stuff like this continues to happen and it is with such a frequency, like a frog boiling in hot water as the temperature rises it never notices it until its too late. People are not paying attention to whats going on beneath their very noses.
This is America, home of the what Free? Land of the Brave? Not according to the EPA, Forestry Commission, Housing Authority, FBI, United States Military etc. Do you know what the term wetlands actually means? Any piece of land with standing water for only two days out of the year with less than a foot of water is nagivable to the U.S. Navy. What? Thats my front yard after a good rain come on. This book will make you gasp at the sheer lunacy of how "our" government is way to big for its pants.
Military helicopters flying onto peoples property to tell them they have wetlands with less than a foot of water? And they can not sell it nor farm on it. EPA stopping people from farming because they have endangered snails? Do you shop at Costco or watch the Apprentice? Hopefully you won't after reading this. This author does a great job of reporting just the facts of each case, but he also does a great job of really making you angry that this goes on and it takes hundreds of thousands of dollars ( can you say more revenue) to fight it. Please read this book and be aware. I have no idea how we as americans can stop things like this, but if you read this and also Charlotte Isberyts the Deliberate Dumbing Down ( government education) And the Politics in Healing you'll understand there is alot of this kind of bamboozling by our government and no it doesn't have a damn thing to do with what party they are affiliated with both party's are in the same dog and pony show.

The stories in this book are certainly interesting, and account for both stars. But the spin on them is overkill, and the argument behind them -- that we're over-regulated and over-governed -- is just plain unsubstantiated by the book. It's argument by anecdote: entertaining, but unreliable. And as another reviewer pointed out, some of the stories actually undercut this argument, though the author seems unaware of it.

While I agree that many of the stories in this book represent horrendous injustice, the book is poor overall. It is one-sided and relies on emotion far too much to be credible as any sort of political commentary.

Most of these stories don't really prove that the government is out to screw the little guy. Many cases feature people who obviously didn't know what they were doing. For instance, on page 85: "Unknown to the Hauks, the Americans With Disabilities Act, passed by Congress required all public accommodations built after January 26, 1993, to comply with regulations prescribed by the Disability Rights Section of the US Justice Department." This piece of legislature was on the books when the Hauks began construction. I agree that Days Inn (who they were franchising through) should have informed them of the ADA guidelines, but if you're going to open a business, do some research. They should have known about this already anyway. As the saying goes, ignorance of the law is no excuse.

I also must wonder about the authors knowledge of the subjects he attempts to tackle. In the vignette about the lost New Mexico boy scout, he refers to the law stating that motorized vehicles are not allowed in designated wilderness areas as "obscure legislation" which is "buried in the Wilderness Act of 1964." Not so. Anyone who knows anything about wilderness zoning is very much aware of this law. In another part of his "Mugged for the Environment" chapter (the longest in the book), Fitzgerald discusses an endangered species of snail, the ambersnail. He writes: "They can be distinguished from ordinary snails only by their golden color." As a biologist, I'm dying to know what an "ordinary snail" looks like. This is not a species, it's an ignorant generalization, much like talking about "German shepherds vs. ordinary dogs." Please clarify "ordinary." Also, color is often the only visible taxonomic variation between species who occupy much different habitat niches as they have different requirements for food, light, moisture, pH, etc; so color is actually a very important defining feature when determining the species of an organism.

Fitzgerald's overall view of the value of the environment is also appalling: "After all, the pollution of our collective air, water, or soil resources can potentially affect both our personal health and our individual property values." This has got to be the most ridiculously self-centered spin on environmentalism I have ever encountered.

This book does nothing to prove that government is "big and bad" and should be reduced. The book shows that the government is corrupt and needs to be reformed so that it can't be used as a tool for aquisition by private interests. Many of the vignettes are stories of people who are actually being screwed by private corporations. There is a story in the book of a woman whose land was seized by Donald Trump via the government for a casino. There is also a story of a woman who wasn't allowed to build on a plot of land in the Florida Keys which she had purchased for retirement. Fraud is rampant in Florida... people buy vast tracts of undevelopable land, knowing full well that it is worthless for building, and sell it in plots to foolishly trusting retirees. By the time the new landowners realize that there are too many environmental restrictions on their land to build, the people who originally sold the plots to them are long gone, money in hand. This is not a case of government zealotry, but rather proof that the government needs to crack down on fraudulent business practices. If government is reduced, then private business interests become more powerful... when it's the private business interests that are hurting the common people, wouldn't government reduction and deregulation be a bad idea? Additionally, if the underfunded forest service is forcing people to protect endangered species on their lands with their own money, wouldn't this be a good reason to have the forest service subsidize care of endangered species? Of course this would require more funding to the forest service and *gasp* dare I say it... maybe even a small tax hike? Government and private interests can live in harmony, it only requires a slight reevaluation of priorities.

As a final concern, I wonder about how thorough the revision process of this book was. While I concede that first run publications often contain typos, this book is not a first run publication (although it is hardback, all the material was previously published in Readers Digest.) On page 21, the author refers to "Kafaesque dramatic tragedy." Considering that "Kafa" is not a word nor a person, I can only assume that the author meant Kafka, a classic author known for his use of... dramatic tragedy. Maybe I'm nitpicking, but if a simple glaring misspelling of a well known author's name wasn't caught in the revision process, how many factual errors made the cut as well?