We all know how Robin of Loxley got on the wrong side of Prince John and the Sheriff of Nottingham. He killed one of the king's deer.

But how did the king come to own the deer of Sherwood? Had he played midwife to the gentle doe who bore those deer as spotted fawns? Had he made sure men were dispatched to the forest each winter with plenty of hay and other silage to make sure the deer had enough to eat? Had he bought the forest -- and its deer with it -- from some previous owner?

Of course not. The Normans conquered England by the sword. They then declared God had chosen William and his descendants to rule the land, giving them all of England as their property "by divine right."

The king divvied up the lands and towns and forests among a bunch of his dukes and other lords -- his battle commanders, originally. They allowed peasants to live in "their" villages, to farm "their" fields and fish "their" ponds, in exchange for paying rents and taxes, a portion of which were funneled up to the king. Everything was presumed to belong to the crown.

Over the years, it seems that "divine right" model has begun creeping back into currency. When we're told we must pay never-ending "rents" to the county and state for the privilege of living in our own homes and driving our own cars, doesn't our circumstance somewhat resemble that of the rebellious peasants who finally went to live in the forest with Robin Hood?

Take another example: What should happen to the $100 that someone paid for that restaurant gift card that a friend gave you for Christmas, if you never get around to using it?

Gift cards are now a $60 billion-a-year business, and as much as 15 percent of that total is never redeemed, according to incoming Nevada freshman Assemblyman Ruben Kihuen. Mr. Kihuen thinks it's outrageous that if no one ever calls in those IOUs, the restaurants and other stores that sold the gift cards just get to keep the cash.

Instead, the Las Vegas Democrat wants to declare all such money "abandoned property" so they can be seized by their rightful owner ... the state.

"If people lose their money, there should be some way to give it back to them," Mr. Kihuen explains. "We could use that money for educational programs, after-school programs, for all kinds of things. ... It's the people's money."

To find a more cynical use of this sleight-of-hand rhetoric -- claiming that a government grabbing everything that's not nailed down, and then using pry bars on the rest, is acting on behalf of "the people" -- we might have to journey behind the old Iron Curtain.

Try to walk into any state government building, or -- better yet -- U.S. military base. Tell them your old car finally broke down and you're just planning to requisition and drive off with a new vehicle from their motor pool. After all, everything there belongs to "the people" and you're clearly one of "the people" -- your tax money helped buy all this stuff. So you can claim your "dividend" any time. Right?

Every state has a law in place -- they're called "escheat laws" -- regarding dormant bank accounts and unclaimed safety-deposit boxes.

Basically, the state makes some modest efforts to find appropriate heirs and then proceeds to seize this stuff, auctioning it off if it's not in a form that can be easily used by the bureaucrats.

"In recent years, the popularity of gift cards has made state treasurers re-examine state escheat laws regarding gift cards because of the huge revenue involved," reports Kristin Arnold of Bankrate.com.

The Texas Legislature just enacted a law to seize the value of the unused portion of expired gift cards, anticipating this will pour an additional $20 million into state coffers in 2009. Do you think they plan to lower existing taxes by $20 million, in exchange? Ha!

The problem of expiring gift cards is best dealt with by educated consumers refusing to buy cards with expiration dates or ongoing "fees."

Under just such consumer pressure, most major retailers including J.C. Penney, Wal-Mart, Home-Depot, Target and Costco have all but done away with card expiration dates and fees and will redeem your gift card for merchandise anytime, even after a number of years, Ms. Arnold of Bankrate.com reports.

Gift cards are purchased with after-tax dollars. The state has no claim on those funds.