In 2014, I paid cash for a house in beautiful Fountain Hills, Arizona. I own it free and clear, with no mortgage or bank involvement. Liberating, eh? But the truth is, I really don’t own it. The government has given me equitable title, which means I’m free to *use* it as long as I play by their rules. In effect, my home is leased from the government (the State of Arizona) and my yearly property taxes are the lease payment. If I refuse to pay my property taxes, the state will repossess what seemingly is mine. And the amount of the delinquency is immaterial—twenty bucks or twenty-thousand, it
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