Kelo v. New London
Good read at CNSNews on the tyranny of eminent domain and how the Kelo case will determine the future of property rights in America:
The seizures and transfers, the government says, are in “the public interest” — because they will lead to more jobs for New London residents and more tax dollars for the government.
This type of justification was given more than 10,000 times between 1998 and 2002, and across 41 states, to use eminent domain (or its threat) to seize private property.
The attitude behind these seizures was epitomized by a Lancaster, CA, city attorney explaining why a 99-Cents Only store should be condemned to make way for a Costco: “99 Cents produces less than $40,000 [a year] in sales taxes, and Costco was producing more than $400,000. You tell me which was more important?”
To such government officials, the fact that an individual earns a piece of property and wants to use and enjoy it, is of no importance–all that matters is “the public.”
But as philosopher Ayn Rand observed, “there is no such entity as ‘the public,’ since the public is merely a number of individuals…the idea that ‘the public interest’ supersedes private interests and rights can have but one meaning: that the interests and rights of some individuals take precedence over the interests and rights of others.”
The Supreme Court begins hearing it tomorrow.
