IN A DAY AND AGE where one voice screaming among thousands can have Christian monuments removed from public buildings and development projects shut down for the benefit of an endangered weed, we have the Supreme Court issuing a ruling in June to set the record straight for the majority. However, this ruling comes at the dismay of individual landowners across America, and threatens to further undermine the American privilege of individual ownership.
Eminent domain is the issue being brought to the table --- or more correctly, to the courts --- as our government legal system dukes it out over land use laws and public benefit.
Eminent domain has been invoked thousands of times, for public infrastructures and developments that include water lines, sewer systems, highways, railroads, and more. If the involved governing bodies determine collectively that there is a public benefit from the placement of such structures, even across private lands, these lands may be commandeered by Uncle Sam, after providing "just compensation" to the owner in the terms of dollars, and the property becomes public.
In recent years various local governments across the U.S. have been invoking eminent domain to acquire lands for privately owned mega-businesses such as shopping malls and retail stores, citing that benefits to the community outweigh the loss of ownership to the individuals. Many believe that increased tax dollars to the community for placement of such mega-stores is an additional incentive.
Tension has risen to the point that a case made it to the Supreme Court, which ruled in favor of the local government in upholding eminent domain. The Supreme Court's decision last month clarified that local governments may seize people's homes and businesses -- even against their will -- for private and public economic development.
Since the laws of this country are dynamic, or ever-changing, such rulings by the high court have a huge impact on future cases as individuals stand their ground against the billion dollar behemoths who are looking for prime space to make their next footprint.
While eminent domain is not the first choice of action, the top 2 retailers in the country have used this tactic a number of times to acquire the position they had been pursuing. More people vote with their dollars than with their ballots, and while some may oppose the pressure to small business and the loss of individual ownership that these developments cause, most consumers will frequent a new "big box" store if one is in their area, and complain if this type of availability is not nearby.
There appears to be little recourse for the general public against Supreme Court rulings of this type, accept to pressure Congressmen into developing new law that would counteract this approach. A California man came up with a brilliant suggestion though. Read on.
WEARE, N.H. - Following a Supreme Court ruling last week that gave local governments power to seize private property, someone has suggested taking over Justice David Souter's New Hampshire farmhouse and turning it into a hotel.
"The justification for such an eminent domain action is that our hotel will better serve the public interest as it will bring in economic development and higher tax revenue to Weare," Logan Darrow Clements of California wrote in a letter faxed to town officials in Weare on Tuesday.
Souter, a longtime Weare resident, joined in the 5-4 court decision allowing governments to seize private property from one owner and turn it over to another if doing so would benefit a community.
Tom Clouser is a 38 year old farmer in Pennsylvania. In addition to farming, he and his father publish a monthly 16-page newspaper called "Trees 'n' Turf", which targets subjects of interest to those in land use industries and activities. View their website at http://www.clouserfarm.net
shuttle from Midway Glen Ellyn ..Everyone knows the United States Government often falls down in... Read More
I have to be honest. It is time to come... Read More
I am personally calling for a total disbanding of the... Read More
With the recent shakeups in the presidential cabinet, it has... Read More
Environmentalists say GM Seeds are bad for the environment, dangerous... Read More
Few understand the Franchising Format and even fewer have correlated... Read More
All to often law makers and regulators create rules and... Read More
Year Item Price Rate of Inflation 03/80 Gasoline (per gallon)... Read More
The United States has enemies, which call the country the... Read More
If we go hog wild towards the liberal agenda where... Read More
I was dismayed to learn the other day, that my... Read More
If a farmer plants the same crop three seasons in... Read More
In a move that rocked the online world and left... Read More
INTRODUCTIONPERHAPS the sentiments contained in the following pages, are not... Read More
As you know Delta Airlines is close to bankruptcy. Their... Read More
Previously Senator Dick Armey and his staff in 2000 to... Read More
What has really changed in the housing market with regards... Read More
Commission for Africa (CFA), one is made to understand is... Read More
Many people who are expert in the issue of the... Read More
United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA), one of the most... Read More
For years I have been amazed as I've listened to... Read More
"Similar to Medieval Inquisitions, judges have been given the authority,... Read More
Publicity is correlative to your position in the community. Seldom... Read More
How can any human being today, anywhere in this world,... Read More
It never fails to amaze me. HM Customs and Excise... Read More
shuttle from O'Hare North Chicago ..Heaven, Hell, or some sort of Purgatory.I cannot seem to... Read More
Death may not be dignified in any light but the... Read More
Close to 500,000 people - one in four - live... Read More
Recently the CIA staged a practice simulation of a cyber... Read More
The recent Jakarta summit of Asia and Africa brought remembrance... Read More
Commission for Africa (CFA), one is made to understand is... Read More
We are told by out leadership that we risk loss... Read More
California Attorneys and politicians are to blame for the energy... Read More
Indonesia's Energy Minister, Purnomo Yusgiantoro, is unhappy with the modest... Read More
Contrary to the Hobbesian prediction of anarchy (freedom) and brutish... Read More
The devastating loss in case of Elliot Spitzer for NY... Read More
Many believe Al-Qaida already has nukes in the United States... Read More
Continued thoughts while driving down the road in a huge... Read More
After arranging the Armistice that ended or settled outstanding issues... Read More
I'm getting a little tired of being lectured by that... Read More
Are you happy with all this so-called security after 9-11?... Read More
I've decided to go public with my intentions: I will... Read More
The man on the tape raised his hand, pointing a... Read More
Lecture given at the Netherlands Economic Institute (NEI) on 18/4/2001Human... Read More
With the world's largest oil and natural gas reserves, second... Read More
Leave it to the Columbia City Police Officers Association in... Read More
The People's Liberation Army of China invaded Tibet in 1949.... Read More
On June 16, 1972, a security guard at the Watergate... Read More
As global warming continues to escalate the concerns of today's... Read More
Expected new applications for Mexican trucks to enter the US... Read More
Political |