LET ME TELL you about a man who started planning for his retirement at a young age.

This guy, who worked hard, always loved the West, so he decided that he would like to retire in the mountains of Montana.

To that end, he bought a small piece of land south of Bozeman and had a beautiful cabin built. This would be his retirement home.

For 30 years, he made mortgage payments, kept his taxes up to date and made such repairs as were necessary to keep the cabin in good shape. This, after all, was a key part of his retirement dream.

Over the years, through hard work and perseverance, the man became very successful and wound up with holdings well in excess of $1 million.

He loved to work, but when he reached his middle 60s he began to tire of the daily rat race and decided to retire. But now, being older, the warm winter climate of southern Arizona became more appealing than the cold winters of Montana.

So, he decided to sell his Montana retirement cabin, which he had never even lived in, and buy something in Arizona.

Before he could, however, the government stepped in and said, "No! You can't sell that cabin!"

When the man asked why, he was told that he only paid $50,000 for his cabin and now, 30 years later, it was worth six times more.

"It is not fair that you only paid $50,000 for that cabin and now you're going to get $300,000 for it," the man from Washington said. "Why should you be allowed to collect six times the amount of money you paid? That's just not fair."

"Not fair?" cried the man in disbelief. "I made monthly payments on that house for 30 years! It's mine! I paid for it, so I should be allowed to get as much for it as I can."

Hoping to get citizen sentiment on his side, the man took his story public. But much to his dismay, he found himself in another battle.

"Why should you even be allowed to own that house?" one young man asked. "You don't need it. You're a millionaire and you already have another house. We should take that cabin from you and give it to some poor person who really needs it."