squatting

Squatting: the declaration of your right to live, by temporarily occupying a place on the Earth. Some claim unused or improperly-claimed property, like a house. Manifest destiny? Trying to live in occupied houses is called break-in and entering, unless you're mental.

Everyone has a need to sleep, eat, defecate, breathe, and connect to others, so these must be a right, legally speaking, as no other person created your body and its needs. Restricting these needs could be claimed as a type of assault. Minors get some exception to this as their parents had to care for them when they were unable to do so for themselves, so to some degree have created their bodies.

The ground on which we walk and live is something no hard-working capitalist had made, so some "stand their ground". When the law forbids you these "god-given" rights to live (and land if you're a Believer or a Native), you have to be active. Some might claim that their rights are protected under "Smith & Wesson", but few know how to build their weapon, so, once again, the State provided the means. The righteous Jedi builds their own.

Technically, it is a drain on the economy to have property to sit unused -- it's a finite (and if in a city: valuable) resource. The interaction with Time will eventually cause it to fall into disrepair, losing value and (if TV is any guide) creating covers for illegal activity. Further, it's an eyesore for property to go unused, and if people are given the [right]to occupy, they will feel the incentive to improve upon what would otherwise go to decay and lose value.

The lack of place for decent humans creates a spiritual (and usually economic and legal) drain as well. Remember, if you're in the USA, that the Founders fought the American Revolution declaring your right to live.

Lesson: find and claim an vacant space and keep it better maintained than the elements and you've improved the property. Try spaces that have been vacant for longer than a year. You can claim rights to such improvements. The amount of time that you could claim title depends on the state from the prior owner (unpaid actual value, leins), and how much non-land assets are locked in to the physical space (like customized power generation equipment) vs. how much value you've generated by using the space.

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See also:

• piracy
• Hack Capitalism
• Hack the Law