The United States Has Fallen...

[Cryozombie]

http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/06/23/scotus.property.ap/index.html

This officially makes my mind up.

I no longer live in the United States of America.

I live in the American Corporate States.

 

[Tgace]

Eminent domain has been around for a while. Its even mentioned in the Constitution.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eminent_domain

In the United States, the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution requires that just compensation be paid when the power of eminent domain is used, and requires that "public purpose" of the property be demonstrated. Over the years the definition of "public purpose" has expanded to include economic development plans which use eminent domain seizures to enable commercial development for the purpose of generating more tax revenue for the local government. Critics contend (http://reclaimdemocracy.org/civil_rights/public_use_corporate_abuse.php) this perverts the intent of eminent domain law and tramples personal property rights.

In 1981, in Michigan, the Supreme Court of Michigan, building on the precedent set by Berman v. Parker, 348 U.S. 26 (1954) [1] (http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=348&invol=26), permitted the neighborhood of Poletown to be taken in order to build a General Motors plant. Courts in other states relied on this decision, which was overturned in 2004 [2] (http://michiganimc.org/feature/display/6334/index.php), as precedent. This expansion of the definition was argued before the United States Supreme Court in February of 2005 [3] (http://www.uncommonthought.com/mtblog/archives/092904-a_new_take_on_eminen.php), in Susette Kelo et al. v. City of New London et al. [4] (http://www.supremecourtus.gov/docket/04-108.htm). In June of 2005, the Supreme Court issued their decision in favor of New London, making eminent domain applicable for private economic development.

In other cases eminent domain has been used by communities to take control of planning and development. Such is the case of the Dudley Street Initiative [5] (http://www.dsni.org/), a community group in Boston which attained the right to eminent domain and have used it to reclaim vacant properties in the purpose of positive community development.

Funny you should bring this up. My Town is facing an "eminent domain" issue. There is a development in town that was built back during WWII as housing for war factory workers. It was supposed to be torn down after the war but was kept as rental property and mixed private homes. Its one of the more "crime ridden" areas currently. A developer wants to buy the whole neighborhood out, level it, and build a mix of brownstones, condos, apartments and commercial property in its place. The results have been mixed and the Town is facing a decision....

 

[Andrew Green]

The article actually mentions the consitituition:

At issue was the scope of the Fifth Amendment, which allows governments to take private property through eminent domain if the land is for "public use."

The issue here is that this is for Private development (An office building) not public use.

 

[Cryozombie]

The issue here is that this is for Private development (An office building) not public use.

Exactly. Specifically when they talked about this on the radio they said it was for the betterment of commercial development...

 

[Tgace]

Yes. But Berman v. Parker, 348 U.S. 26 (1954) set precedent. Which this decision clarified. Personally I dont like it. However at some point the jobs and revenue provided by business have an effect on the "public good". I wonder if that was part of the decision.....

 

[Andrew Green]

So can I tear down MS headquarters and put up a small tent? It's for the "public good"

 

[Bammx2]

"....to create new jobs and tax revenue"?!?!?!
Don't they have enough frikken taxes already?!
Ya know what.....
They can have my home,my corpse and all my spent shells to go with it!

 

[Tgace]

"....to create new jobs and tax revenue"?!?!?!
Don't they have enough frikken taxes already?!
Ya know what.....
They can have my home,my corpse and all my spent shells to go with it!

The municipality taxes the business.....

 

[Bob Hubbard]

So, why should I buy a home, spend years of my life, and a good amount of my earnings keeping it up, improving it maybe, and making it truely a home, just so someone who wants to put a shopping center up can evict me, give me 40% of it's value? With that ruling, it is not legal for any big corporation to declare"eminent domain" cite some $$ and kick me and mine off.

Sucks. I don't think enriching corporate fat-cats was what was intended in the Constitution.

 

[Tgace]

Well..cant blame it "entirely" on "big business". The guys we elect are the ones that let it happen. And go to court to see that it does indeed happen......Eminent domain is a governmental decision .

 

[rutherford]

Hmm. I thought it was pretty interesting how the judges split the decision. Not the typical set of judges I side with.

 

[Bob Hubbard]

Tom, You know as well as I do the current condition of our own local goverments. Would you honestly trust these twits to decide anything? Theres a reason Buffalo and soon Erie County will be run by control boards...because they can't do anything right for the people, just themselves and their buddies. If it ever came down to the government stealing my grandfathers home so Benderson or some other strip mall company could build another empty box eye sore, I can guarentee you I'd be in the news. "Gladiator WebMaster holds off Developer with Sword of Maximus" would be the Snoozes headline. Hey, wasn't there a movie a few years back about something like this? Harrys War or something?

 

[Tgace]

Oh absolutely...like I said Im against making eminent domain "easy" by any standard. I guess Im just saying Im not surprised.....Then again Id be lying to say I wouldnt be happy to see Ceadergrove Heights go byebye.

 

[Bammx2]

I thought "eminant domain" was a federal act only?
Like housing troops in time of war.
Not some federal judge,I did not and would NEVER vote for,have his "Haliburton fishin buddy" take my home and my familys' legacy just so they can go on bigger fishin trips.
Did they put it to a public vote?! I bet not.

 

[Bammx2]

ok.....
for some reason,this thing tried to post the same thing twice I had just said.
so ignore this one

 

[arnisador]

Eminent domain is a necessity. But, this extends it a bit farther than I'm happy to see--for econmoic development. It may be necessary some of the time, but only rarely I hope.

 

[Don Roley]

However at some point the jobs and revenue provided by business have an effect on the "public good".

To hell with the "public good." The idea that a group of twits knows best for the rest of us galls the hell out of me.

I do not care if it is a corporation trying to open up a site, or a bunch of goverment officials trying to set up a community according to their own vision. No one should be able to take from one to give to another.

No one should impose their own vision of what society should be by force like this. We need to respect every individual in society and respect their rights. This example of not respecting the right of the private land owner for "the greater good" is unacceptable.

I just hope some of the judges that made this decision step down in the next three years. But maybe the damage is already irreversable.

 

[heretic888]

While I agree with the conclusion of your post, Don, I'm not quite sure if I can subscribe to all of your points.

Are you suggesting that, for example, Social Security is wrong?? It most assuredly "takes" from one and "gives" to another...

As for myself, I believe in the idea of "social contract". But, its important not to take this thinking too far into authoritarianism.

Laterz. :asian:

 

[michaeledward]

I think it is a bad ruling. I believe it will further the gap between the haves and have-nots in our society. I imagine that in another 30 or 40 years, the deal will be undone.


Perhaps there will someday soon be a 'class war' ... in which the poor rise up and take over ... kill the men, roast them on a spit, and feed them to the women.

That's the way they did it in the 13th century.

 

[Shaolinwind]

"....to create new jobs and tax revenue"?!?!?!
Don't they have enough frikken taxes already?!
Ya know what.....
They can have my home,my corpse and all my spent shells to go with it!

Careful where you say that.. Limiting how we can talk & think is next.