This land is my land
A good read on eminent domain abuse and the pending Supreme Court Case:
When the Supreme Court announced in September that it would hear Kelo v. City of New London, it sent ripples through state and local governments everywhere. At issue in the Connecticut case is whether the city can exercise its right of eminent domain – the constitutionally based power to take private land for “public use” in exchange for “just compensation” – not for historical purposes such as a highway or flood control, but to bring in more tax revenue through private development.
The Court has decided a handful of related cases throughout its history, but it has always expressed doubts that a judicial rule-of-thumb can be applied to a process that is grounded in so many local variables, including a community’s economic needs and real estate prices. Its position has essentially been that the local governing entities are in the best position to decide those questions.
Despite its remove from direct electoral politics, the Court is not insensitive to the winds of change, and its willingness to take on Kelo v. City of New London reflects two trends: perceived abuse by governmental entities that have used the power to take private land for private development, and a conservative campaign to roll back eminent domain to the bare minimum by making the purchase costs too burdensome for local governments.
I’m don’t have much faith in the court to do the right thing but they may surprise me.
October 15th, 2004 at 9:57 am
i hope they do.
it seems clear to me, and the demographis of the natation are more red than they used to be, so you never now.