But I thought Government was supposed to prevent monopolies?

http://www.naturalnews.com/036615_Oregon_rainwater_permaculture.html#ixzz22KBvr5uc

*dies*

Land of the free! really?

The USA will forever remain the land of the free. Unfortunately, using a bastardized definition of the word "free"... the European definition, perhaps?

All water in Oregon is owned by the state.

Gov is simply protecting the people from themselves, like when they require stickers that say "do not put live animals in the microwave", "do not put people in this washing machine", or "this scooter moves when used".

Fact is, Americans are complete retards. I approve this law.

Maybe the people of Oregon need to start taking all their piss into the mouth of Oregon state officials. Let them own that water as well.

Finally, a somewhat reasonable explanation.

*dying sequence aborted*

no this article is blatant propaganda... The man was fined and jailed because he essentially made a dam that prevented water from flowing into a creek to make his own private ponds. You are allowed to ccollect water in rain barrels, tanks, etc... You just aren't allowed to divert natural waterflow without permits for obvious reasons...

Monopolies are unavoidable. The state itself is defined as an organization with a monopoly on legitimate use of force within a geographic region. Government's role is to manage monopolies, to ensure they don't overly exploit their position of power, whether though antitrust law, regulations, or state-owned enterprises.

In this case, a guy built a 15-foot high dam which impacted a creek owned by the city Medford. The creation, manipulation, and destruction of pre-existing bodies of water can have all kinds unforseen disastrous consequences, such as threatening Medford's water supply or flooding a neighbor's land. Of course this guy needs government permission to build a 15-foot dam!