Many of our readers/contributors may be aware of the recent supreme court decision allowing government entities to use powers of eminent domain to transfer property rights between private citizens and private or public corporations as long as it benefits "the greater good." I can't possibly imagine a more un-American decision that has come from the high court in my years as a politically aware individual. Individual rights are imperative to the American way of life, and the ability of a government body to abuse the power entrusted to it by its citizens is certainly well known. I hate to sound like a conspiracy theorist here, but all this ruling did was make it easier and cheaper for big real estate developers to evict people from property that they want for "public use." Keep in mind that public use can mean building a shopping mall. In the past, they were forced to pay fair market value to any individual who was lucky enough to own property in the area they wanted to develop. If the individual caught wind of what was happening early enough, they ask for a decent price and make a profit on their own homes, it is afterall, supposed to be an investment. Now, thanks to our Supreme Court's legislation from the bench, companies can go through political channels (remember that campaign contribution I gave you, Mr. Mayor?) and avoid paying higher prices for property that people invested their own money in. Hey, that's the American way, I guess. Work hard, become a successful individual, forget that you were once nothing yourself and step on all the little guys.
As you have probably figured out, I can't stand having the government stick its nose into places where it really has no business. Interfering with private property rights between private individuals is certainly one of those areas in my opinion. The slippery slope comes in when you begin considering actual "public use" facilities such as: Airports. The use of eminent domain to acquire land for the growth of a public airport is certainly an understandable situation. Airports are almost always government entities. They are usually owned by their respective governing body (city, county, etc.) and are usually required to be self sustaining. (Consider that next time you are upset at paying $10 a day to park your car.) An increase in capacity for an airport can draw in new business from airlines which could potentially have an impact on the local economy. (More people transiting = more money for local businesses) New business almost always follows airports, thus they can be considered a government entity that will foster growth in the community, instead of just a few developers who will be making a killing at their new shopping mall...
/rant
Jeff C.
