Trump: Eminent domain is ‘a wonderful thing’

The Hill ^ | October 06, 2015 | Elliot Smilowitz

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump on Tuesday reiterated his stance in favor of eminent domain — a view not shared by many in his party.

 

"Eminent domain, when it comes to jobs, roads, the public good, I think it's a wonderful thing," Trump told Fox News' Bret Baier. 

 

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“You're not taking property. … You're paying a fortune for that property,” he said of the process, adding that homeowners can be paid “four, five, six, ten times” their property’s value.

 

Trump, a real estate mogul, noted that he’s dealt with eminent domain a lot in building developments in New York City. He said the idea that people are forced to sell homes they don’t really want to give up is a myth.

 

"Most of the time, they just want money,” the businessman said. “These people can go buy a house now that's five times bigger and in a better location."

 

The conservative group Club For Growth has run attack ads on Trump over his support for eminent domain. Trump on Tuesday dismissed those attacks as a result of his refusal to donate to the Club.

[Kenny]

Is this your only beef with Trump? There are not enough hours in the day for me to cover all that's wrong with every other candidate. Or maybe if Trump's not perfect, you can just not vote, put Hillary in or some such thing.

Trump's a businessman, not a pastor and not a community organizer. Vera won, kept her house and Trump built around it. So Vera's crappy little house was right smack dab in the middle of new state-of-the-art construction.

Or maybe you think Trump shouldn't have built at all if he had to engage Vera, that new hotels and casinos shouldn't happen if there's a holdout. . This is not a case of a bully running a little old widow out of her home, it's the case of a woman who passed up a great offer to sell, knowing the construction would happen anyway, to end of with 20% of original value. Stupid is as stupid does.

[entropy12]

She ended up selling the house for approximately 1/10th what Trump was offering her. Some people have rocks in their heads.

[sharkhawk]

Is that one of the Trump casinos that went belly up? How did that help the community? I guess him being able to stiff his creditors and local businesses was a good thing also. There’s only one issue here, did the lady want to sell the house at a price Trump was willing to pay or not. It should not be the governments business to kick people out of their house because some big company wants to make more profit.

[sharkhawk]

Is that one of the Trump casinos that went belly up? How did that help the community? I guess him being able to stiff his creditors and local businesses was a good thing also. There’s only one issue here, did the lady want to sell the house at a price Trump was willing to pay or not. It should not be the governments business to kick people out of their house because some big company wants to make more profit.

[100American]

Farm land, only needs water...

The rail “project” is a joke, you take a bus from LA ro Bakersfield to catch the damned thing and the same on the other side...

The train to nowhere, except grabbing the land and then using it as it is now

Only not so many farmers, they vote Republican u know

[Pirate Ragnar]

“I love this guy. Is he ever wrong?”

He is as correct as any fascist.

[100American]

Stay out the Bushes!

[MeshugeMikey]

the developers are DROOLING about the Land Opportunities “behind our backs” or so they think....

[MeshugeMikey]

your rambl’s a bit hard to respond to in any meaningful fashion

Freegards

[Paradox]

I love this guy. Is he ever wrong?

You are only 15, and have a lot to learn.

[BigEdLB]

There are three threads at least on Trump’s comments on Eminent Domain. The folks going zonkers are already anti-Trump. Any one with any brains knows that there is a lot more at stake here than a sloppy Supreme Court decision, which was wrong. I disagree with Trump on this, BUT there is far more at stake in the election. If the Moslem President lets in a bunch of Jihadis unchallenged, what good will a bunch of whining about eminent domain be worth. The Imam will just kill you to take your house for new mosque. Trump is right on so much else. Go Trump.

[Buttons12]

I wonder, though, how Donald would feel if government came along and

...took his children's inheritance. Wouldn't it be great for the "public good" if the Trump fortune went to the government instead of Trump's chosen heirs? By the same logic, should anyone have a right to decide who gets their stuff when they die?

If you can't even keep your house when you're alive, because the "public good" has a better use for it, you certainly shouldn't expect to control who owns it and uses it after you've gone. Right, Mr. Trump? Shouldn't we put all your holdings up for bids? In fact, let's do it now. They won't take possession 'til you're gone, and then what do you care?

[Kenny]

NO ONE KICKED HER OUT!!!

And it doesn’t make any difference if the casino went belly up. If fear of failure keeps people from building we’re screwed.

Do you realize you sound just like the msn and GOPe? You blindly attack from all angles. Does it concern you that you sound like them?

[Jim from C-Town]

The idea behind the takings clause is to allow development that is in the public interest. “private property [shall not] be taken for public use, without just compensation.”

That is a fairly broad statement. Public use could be a road, school , a new court house, jail or in some cases the elimination of blight and public/private development programs like multi use buildings and even GASP casino's and shopping malls.

The fact that private development creates massively increased local taxes could be, and is by the Kelo decision, considered public use or at least the public benefit.

I am not saying I agree, but it is a drag to the dozens, hundreds or even thousands of individual property owners who where willing to accept above market rates for their land can not get that benefit because one or a handful of home owners stand in the way.

I have seen area changing development put on hold or outright eliminated because one or two home owners decided that they didn't want to sell when dozens of their neighbors not only agreed to sell, but made arrangements for other suitable housing only to be caught holding deed or debt on not one but two properties. Block parties on those streets have been less than friendly since.

[Jim from C-Town]

Little of the land in question would be slated to ‘take off wildly’ without the project being done that required the use of the land. Most often, NOT ALWAYS, the land in question is of marginal value and is often offered at several times legitimate asking price.

Developers are in business to develop. Be they in private projects or public development they only benefit when the development takes place. It is in their best interests to keep the process flowing. In most instances it is the dead enders that create resistance to the development, often to the detriment of everyone involved, the developers, the government and the other property owners. Often the owner themselves often only cost themselves in the long run.

[Dr. Sivana]

I have held back on going after Trump because I believe his net effect on the race is good, because he deserves a fair shake to make his case, and because many of his enemies are my enemies.

BUT saying ““You’re not taking property. … You’re paying a fortune for that property,” he said of the process, adding that homeowners can be paid “four, five, six, ten times” their property’s value.” is NONSENSE for regular homeowners.

I lived in Connecticut, and even before Kelo, the State would routinely offer 70-80% of value. You can challenge it in Court, and wait years before seeing $1. When you win, if you win, you get 100% of value . . . minus 20-30% of that which goes to the attorneys. There is ZERO disincentive to underpay.

[Jim from C-Town]

Yes. Like much of Atlantic City the Trump casino entered into bankruptcy. He had divested a majority of his Atlantic City holdings in the mid aughts and allowed the holding company to retain the name with him as a minority owner.

Atlantic City casinos are now almost all bankrupt. They can no longer compete in a saturated gambling market that has seen casinos on both Indian land and city owned properties throughout the Eastern Seaboard.

As for the benefit to the City of Atlantic City. He provided thousands of jobs and hundreds of million of dollars in taxes to the City and County of Atlantic City for the decades he had presence in the town.

Are we now supposed to dishonor the work of Carnegie or Rockefeller because many of their steel plants or oil refineries are no longer in operation?

[Jim from C-Town]

Eminent Domain requires JUST compensation per the takings clause of the fifth amendment. Just compensation is subjective.

[Lurking Libertarian]

This is one of the things that I despise about Trump.

Given how much of the land along the Mexican border is privately owned, Trump is going to have to use a lot of eminent domain to get his border wall built.

[Jim from C-Town]

The government dose take fifty percent of wealthy peoples inheritance.