Unbelievable.
Capitalism at work, right?
Seriously though, wait a couple of years and see how much freedom you have left.
I know there’s going to be posts about “liberal conspiracy theory” coming up, but this is just one of the first steps in letting your country be 100% ruled by big corporations and turning the citizens into nice little obedient cogs with no real rights but the right to bear arms.
I am pretty amazed by this ruling.
Unfortunately, it broadens the definition of “public interest” to an extent that the process is undoubtedly going to be corrupted by money and all sorts of under the table dealings to get eminent domain rulings.
I mean, how the hell do you protect your waterfront property if some developer makes the argument that it would better used as a hotel and casino?
**Capitalism at work, right? **
Yep.
Unfortunately, it was the more liberal wing of the court plus Kennedy that ruled in the majority, so the liberal conspiracy theory might not really hold water here.
Good point. This was actually an expansion of government power, not corporate power. And of course, every good liberal knows government power good, corporate power bad. But look who corporations donate money to. They are not idealogical in their donations, they are prgmatic. They donate to who is in power, be they liberal or conservative, Democrat or Republican. Why? Because a politician who is not in office can’t do anything for them.
Here’s the decision, if anyone is interested in reading it.
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/printer_friendly.pl?page=us/000/04-108.html
And of course, every good liberal knows government power good, corporate power bad.
Bullshit. They are one and the same most of the time.
That was exactly my point. The “ins” in politics, especially at the city/county level, will usually bend to the wishes of any large corporation willing to come in to their community and create tax revenue. That’s not always a bad thing, though.
Your characterization of “liberals” is what I meant by “Bullshit”.
You don’t get much more liberal than me.
While technically, this is an expansion of governmental power, in reality it’s a huge increase in corporate power as well.
bend to the wishes of any large corporation willing to come in to their community and create tax revenue. That’s not always a bad thing, though.
It is if it’s your house they’re demolishing.
this is really a wretched decision on so many levels.
IF the county bought my house at Fair Market Value and IF I was able to get an equivalent house for the same price and IF my children were able to get good jobs at the new factory, or whatever, going in, then I would probably think it was a good thing. Otherwise, I would probably be pissed.
Some people do get a little too emotionally attached to their property, though, and we know what the Bible says about that (it’s agin’ it). 
I hope your kidding me.
You don’t get more “left” then you. You don’t more liberal then me.
Nooooooo, not really. In our area, good paying jobs are hard to find. Lots of kids have to move out of the area to get jobs. So, if the house deal turned out to be a zero-sum game, and I got a benefit in some other way, i.e., my kids get to live near me with a good, then I am ahead in the transaction, as I see it. I am just a more pragmatic guy than you, you purist you.
Now, this argument is limited to a single transaction–not to the larger issue of whether or not government power should be extended/expanded. I am not really sure this case is an “expansion” of power though or just a codification of what is already happening–I know many cities and counties are doing this kind of thing already. I know it is happening here. It is being done under the rubric of “urban planning” more or less. E.g., the city argues that “Zone A” should be commercial, “Zone B” should be recreational, “Zone C” should be residential, etc. Then, they go in and buy up non-compliant properties and convert them to their desired “better” use. They argue that this is to the overall public good (usually because they paid some urban planner mega$$ to tell them that) just as building a new road is for the public good.
if the house deal turned out to be a zero-sum game, and I got a benefit in some other way, i.e., my kids get to live near me with a good, then I am ahead in the transaction, as I see it.
Then they wouldn’t really have to seize your house against your will, would they?
Now they can take our homes. What’s next? We all have to buy GM cars to save UAW jobs? Isn’t that also in the public good?
Welcome to Amerika!
**We all have to buy GM cars to save UAW jobs? Isn’t that also in the public good? **
No, no, no. Aren’t you paying attention? It’s in the public good to buy as much cheap junk from China as possible. Try to keep up.
If I got FMV for it (I think here you can ask for an independent analysis), no, I wouldn’t be sandbagging my windows or anything.
My house is just where I keep my stuff. We can make our home anywhere we are.