This just in – Kelo not popular
Ford flip-flops on Kelo. Good. In other news, I heard on the radio that a local rep is looking to pass a law that states when a government takes land in an eminent domain case, that the local government should pay three times the market value of that land. Excellent!
July 11th, 2005 at 1:47 pm
If the state will take property at 3x market rate, there will be a lot of people who will WANT their property taken. Some of them will be wealthy or powerful enough to get the State to take their land for whatever reason, and make a huge profit.
Better to make it illegal to take land for other than ‘public’ use. The state cannot benefit from higher taxes on such taken land, since it owns it and doesn’t pay property tax on it.
July 11th, 2005 at 5:25 pm
How about requiring the landowner be compensated with the greater of fair market value or another, comparable plot of land in the same vicinity?
July 11th, 2005 at 8:06 pm
I agree with Paul..that kind of law would be ripe for abuse. If the .gov made it known that it was interested in a particular piece of land, the value would rise atleast 2x meaning that it could be argued that the government would be forced to pay 6x of the true market value.
July 12th, 2005 at 9:16 am
It’s not the best solution but it does show that politicos and people are paying attention.
July 12th, 2005 at 4:38 pm
I’ve always felt that “fair market value” and “just compensation” are two entirely different things. If I spend $200K buying the home my grandad built and then spend another $100K fixing it up, but it only has a “fair market value” or $250K, should the gov really be allowed to pay me only FMV? If I wouldn’t take $500K from another private party to buy it, shouldn’t that factor in somehow?
July 15th, 2005 at 2:19 pm
At the Save Ardmore Coalition, we urge everyone to go to http://www.IJ.or and/or http://www.castlecoalition.org web site and check out the “Hands Off My Home” campaign. Join in, or pass it to someone fighting eminent domain.