by Walter Williams

About the author: Walter Williams is a syndicated columnist.

Making our value premises explicit and clear can help untangle contentious public policy issues or at least let us know where people stand. Let's state my personal value premise. I cherish private property rights. "OK," you say, "but what are private property rights""

The Owner Is Responsible

Private property rights refer to an owner's right to acquire, keep, use and dispose of property in ways that do not violate the property rights of others. If that's a shared value, there's little debate on a whole class of public policy issues. Let's see.

Iam the property of Walter Williams. Among other things, that means I have the right to take chances with my own life but not that of others.

Mandating that I wear a seat...