"WHY are so many people upset about this? All the ruling said was that individual states could control this-If you have a problem, then change your state law! DUH! It's not a federal thing."
Because it SHOULD be a Federal thing!
Because there is nothing more personal, and no private property more sacred, than one's own family HOME.
Because state governments, and especially local governments, are much more opaque and subject to local corruption and manipulation to take a particular set of houses than the Federal government is.
Because the temptation for local state political interests to conceded peoples' houses to billion dollar industries is often too great to resist, and so there needs to be a bright line national rule, at the level of the Constitution, to eliminate the temptation and make it clear that, as fundamental right of a citizen of the United States, irrespective of what state you happen to live in, your government, at any level, cannot simply side with the richer guy, take your house, and give it to him.
Local government is PARTICULARLY prone to this sort of corruption, and THAT'S why this issue CAN'T be left to the states and municipalities: the right is too fundamental, and the temptation for municipalities and states is too strong, for this to be left to the states.
THAT is why.
The US Constitution has the right rule: no taking of private land except for public purposes, and with just compensation. The States and cities have interpreted this as meaning that they can take houses and given them to the more prosperous in order to increase the tax base, and the US Supreme Court said that it was OK, as a Federal Constitutional matter.
The Republicans should have seized Congress and tamped that down, as a matter of federal law. It's too important.
But they didn't. Because the business interests are in their favor.
That's why.
I don't disagree with any of your feelings on how things "should" be. I agree that a gov't should not be able to condemn property to transfer it to any other civilian entity, but only for public utilities, etc. It's just that the Supreme Court just said that this is a state matter. I did hear about legislation proceeding thru the TX legislature, to correct the matter. I am truly sorry if you live in CT. Apparently, CT doesn't care about it's citizens.