It is no secret that a large portion of the land in the United States is owned by the “public” a.k.a. the government.  This land has been financially and environmentally mismanaged throughout time. 

Thus, many small-government types are calling for privatization of these lands. 

While I typically fall well to “small government” “civil libertarian” side of this argument, I cannot see any examples where private ownership has resulted in a better societal outcome.  This must take into effect inter-generational effects of environmental resources, value of depletable resources, and intangible value of “open space.” 

Because of the contentious nature of such issues, I decided to instead focus on some very easy financial aspects of these lands.  How to reverse the negative cash flow and maintain the parks at their current level, using a self-sufficient model, and compare the financial benefits directly.

Click here to read this paper.