[Springfield Reformer]

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  

[papertyger]

Bottom line, Kelo is horrible law.

I don't disagree. However, I do believe a reasonable person could support it.

And please note you DID use loaded language in support of your point. "Minimal token amount" etc...

I can easily understand city fathers siding with a proven developer committing to a project that creates numerous jobs over Nell's right to happy taste buds.

[Cold Heat]

Good commentary on Kelo.

I think it’s worth saying that we would not likely be having this argument here on FR if it were not for supporters of Trump attempting to rationalize his position on this.

But......it is what it is..

I see Kelo much in the same way that I see the phrase “The needs of the many exceed the needs of the one” ...or perhaps the well known song, “This land is my land, this land is your land.”

I makes a joke out of property rights by elevating the worth of the “many” over the “few”.

This kind of thinking leads to all kinds of other actions taken by societies, that devolve into socialism and turn us all into communal worker bees.

Therefore I reject it.

The individual must retain his position in society and not be made to give it to the whole involuntarily in the normal course of business. It should be a extraordinary action and very rare. It should not be done to build shopping centers...or for “PROGRESS”.......