Friday, July 01, 2005

A Man's Home is His Castle . . . Until Wal-Mart Wants It!

The Supreme Court of the United States decided last week in a 5-4 vote, that there is no sanctity in one's home. The court ruled that government can exercise it's power of eminent domain to forcibly remove people from their homes and small businesses in order to turn the property over to commercial developers.

I understand that eminent domain is necessary for public infrastructure, like highways, dams, airports, etc. However, there is something inherently wrong about the government acting as a eviction agent for private interests. Those pushing others out of their domiciles and businesses have everything to gain from such actions. The developer gets the property of others to establish a money-making enterprise, and the municipality gains increased tax revenues. The guy with the least ability to fight back has now lost the right to do so.

It is my prediction that once people start losing their homes so that Wal-Mart and its ilk can open a new SuperCenter, the public will see what a travesty this is. This could go down with the Dred Scott decision as one of the worst rulings to ever come from the SCOTUS.

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