Kelo You don't have to like it, but a reasonable case can be made for Kelo.
I'm impressed that so many localities moved so fast to take it off the table by legislative action.
You act like Kelo is the equivalent of Simon Legree taking fair Nell's milk cow, and like any other trope, it doesn't hold up to a clear eyed examination.
You don't have to like it, but a reasonable case can be made for Kelo.
I'm impressed that so many localities moved so fast to take it off the table by legislative action.
You act like Kelo is the equivalent of Simon Legree taking fair Nell's milk cow, and like any other trope, it doesn't hold up to a clear eyed examination.
Actually, that cow analogy is pretty accurate. The only variation is that Simon Legree must pay Nell some minimal token amount before handing Nell's cow over to the butcher to sell for beef, on the expectation that the economic benefit of the beef is greater than that of the milk. This would pass the current SCOTUS treatment of "Public Use," because the notion of the public using the property has been stretched near to infinity, as long as the confiscating governmental unit offers some whisper of a possible rationalization, like maybe we'll get more taxes. But at the end of the day, Nell loses her milk cow, is not compensated for the loss of her milk-selling business, only for the carcass of the cow, and Legree gets steak in abundance, until he needs another cow.
For a somewhat less florid but legally more precise discussion, please see the following article:
http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2015/06/revisiting-kelo
Bottom line, Kelo is horrible law. It trashes the heart and soul of the constitutional imperative, which runs through every fiber of that venerable document, namely the protection of the private individual from the overreach of government, whether the subject is life, liberty, or property. The systematic redefinition of "public use" to "potential public benefit" destroys the foundational purpose of the text. and as that purpose fails so do the liberties it was designed to protect.
Peace,
SR