The Natural Right of Private Property: The Proper Use of Eminent Domain

Coach is Right ^ | 9/27/15 | Karen Lees & Bill Norton

[Oldpuppymax]

He slammed his fist on the table in frustration and anger as he told the story of losing his house and business to eminent domain. His wife was startled as the dishes bounced on the jostled table and tears welled up. They felt violated, robbed, abandoned and fearful. “How can this happen in America?” they ask themselves in a daze of disbelief.

Last week’s Language of Liberty article was about eminent domain. A practice that is all too often abused by all levels of government. However, eminent domain does have a proper use under the Constitution.

As an educational organization, the Center for Self-Governance seeks to teach citizens not only how to recognize government abuses, but to identify solutions and the proper boundaries of governmental jurisdictions.

The kitchen table story above has occurred over and over again as tens of thousands of citizens have had their homes and businesses condemned or seized, and handed over to private developers. With the taking of their property, they have also lost a portion of their lives and liberty; the life and liberty spent to obtain the property in their “pursuit of happiness”.

If, as an individual, any one of us took property from our neighbor and gave to another neighbor, we would be tried for theft and incarcerated. If our entire neighborhood voted to take a neighbor’s property and give it to another, the thieves would also pay the same penalty. We do not have the right to individually or collectively take from one individual to give to another.

If we are to operate under the premise that government derives its authority from the people, the government does not have the right to take from one...

[cripplecreek]

Ultimately property rights and personal rights are the same thing.

-Calvin Coolidge

[GenXteacher]

The Kelo decision is one of the great travesties of jurisprudence, along with abortion and gay marriage.

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

Conservatives could give leftists a major kick in the teeth by doing something at the state level.

Pass a state “homestead act”, limited to families that live on properties smaller than a given size and number of persons. That their land and their home would legally be theirs in perpetuity, could be inherited without taxation, would pay no property tax, and could not be forfeited in bankruptcy (like in Florida).

Their land would be immune to local and state eminent domain. It could not become part of a HOA. Utility companies, and trash and fire services could demand a bond for continued services, but that’s it.

[USNBandit]

I don't think the gay marriage decision goes in the same class as Kelo and Roe. I would definitely throw Kelo and Roe in with Dred Scott. All three decisions have a common factor in that they horrifically strip the rights of one citizen to provide a non-existent right to another.

Property rights are a cornerstone to our existence as Americans. While the Constitution does recognize need for eminent domain, it says absolutely nothing about taking property from one citizen and giving it to another. The ability of one party to pay higher taxes than another should not be the basis of property law in this country.

[USNBandit]

The Kelo decision, although very bad, does leave open the avenue of legislative relief. Some states have passed laws specifically prohibiting these kinds of takings. Connecticut is not one of them, and Kelo activity is continuing there.

http://www.ij.org/five-years-after-kelo-the-sweeping-backlash-against-one-of-the-supreme-courts-most-despised-decisions

[Original Lurker]

Let’s not forget the Bush (43) administration wrote a “friend of the court appeal” siding with the court’s ruling on Kelo vs NLC.

[cripplecreek]

Eminent Domain is extremely limited in its legitimacy and is never legitimate when taken from one private entity and given to another private entity.

There are legitimate uses for eminent domain but they are pretty rare these days. In the case of the new bridge over the Detroit river, average property values in the Delray neighborhood shot up from around $5 grand to over $30 grand practically overnight in anticipation of the land being taken.

[Redbob]

" In the case of the new bridge over the Detroit river,..."

Funny you should bring that up: that's the one where the government is using eminent domain for the express purpose of putting a private company, the Ambassador Bridge Co., out of business.

Is THAT a legitimate use?

[Eric in the Ozarks]

I note a Pioneer-Press column about “Real ID.”

Anyone else see this today ?

[cripplecreek]

Funny you should bring that up: that's the one where the government is using eminent domain for the express purpose of putting a private company, the Ambassador Bridge Co., out of business.

Whoever told you it will put the Ambassador bridge and Detroit's favorite slumlord and democrat donor out of business is a liar and an idiot.

Detroit is the second busiest freight crossing on the continent and it runs across a nearly 90 year old two lane bridge that Matty Maroun is apparently going to allow to fall into the river. Its already a serious bottleneck where trucks often wait for hours to get across only to empty onto Windsor city streets. There is also the rather dubious constitutionality of a single man owning a federal border crossing.



Maroun has interests in several large trucking companies and can work to route them across his bridge. He'll still see a couple hundred thousand trucks per year and the rest will be free to take the new route south of Windsor.

The kind of scum that Matty Maroun is.

Wikileaks release raises suspicions of backroom Detroit-Windsor Tunnel deal between Kwame Kilpatrick, Matty Moroun

[logi_cal869]

Have not forgotten; but GW-sycophants will still defend him.

[GenXteacher]

“All three decisions have a common factor in that they horrifically strip the rights of one citizen to provide a non-existent right to another. “

The gay marriage decision does this as well.

[USNBandit]

I would say in general that many of the gay rights rulings come at the expense of religious freedom. I don’t know if that is case with the SCOTUS ruling.

[magellan]

I wonder how many people on FR would support the government taking their guns as long as they are justly compensated?

Private property is private property. Rights are rights. The right to own a firearm assumes the right to own private property.