Your Thoughts?
This... frightens me.
Homes may be 'taken' for private projects - U.S. News - MSNBC.com
Of course, we have the usual suspects in favor (Stevens, Kennedy, Souter, Ginsburg, and Breyer). I still find that odd, as this seems like the perfect cause for the liberals to go rushing to: the evil private-industry capatilists paying off the local government with the promise of tax dollars, and in exchange getting permission to bulldoze people's homes and building hotels, health clubs, and office buildings.
Well, I suppose it's not the first time a local government screwed people out of their homes (*cough cough* LAX and Westchester *cough cough*)
A liberal will never complain about the government taking money. That's like a vampire complaining about a blood surplus. Kudos to justice O'Conner for telling it like it is on this one.
ReplyDeleteI also read about this ruling, and I thought that there would be more uproar and discussion, but I haven't heard much. I don't think I saw a single article on the topic at National Review Online.
ReplyDeleteThis ruling has been a long time in coming, and I'm not surprised by it. There have been precedents for this ruling going back to (It think) the late 70's. Even at that time, States seized private property with the net effect being an "increase in tax revenue". This current ruling might be the first ruling on the matter by the Supreme Court, though I'm not certain.
It is very frightening to consider the fact that your personal property can be seized for almost any nebulous reason, so long as it benefits some state agenda. The particular case argued in the Supreme court involved a group of riverfront homeowners who had there homes seized by the state to allow the erection of a bunch of office buildings, even though the neighborhood wasn't a blighted area. The justifying reason: tax revenue (!?!).
Property seizure, coming soon to a neighborhood near you.
Taxes you say? Balderdash!
ReplyDeleteYou should be happy that the 5Fwy is as wide as it is!! Nay, be not just happy, but get on your knees and worship the mouse house that spurned the local government to build a dedicated freeway exit for hapless tourists to be funnled into the happy lands of make believe and the 13 miles of improvements and widening that occurred to ease the bringing of smiles to children with parents of wealth!!
Now, you can go to the concrete jungle and experience a simulated "claifornia adventure" of what the rest of California is like if you are willing to drive out of the city.
Yea, verily, Yea!! We bulldoze houses of those who live by large transit corridors, and pay oddly low appraised house/land value.
Complain not, or the Blue Fox will visit you!!