Sunday, March 23, 2014

Kelo wasteland 9 years after eminent domain case


"The 90-acre [neighborhood] once earmarked for office buildings, luxury apartments and a new marina, remains vacant. Seven residents who fought all the way to the Supreme Court to keep their working-class homes in the city's Fort Trumbull section have only their memories and whatever remains of the money they were forced to accept. In the landmark 5-4 ruling,...Previously, eminent domain had been seen as limited to cases involving projects deemed as benefiting the public, but not a private economic interest."
At least Fox News acknowledges that previously (forever?) eminent domain has been "public benefit", not public use as defined in the 5th Amendment. Seizing homes, neighborhoods, businesses, industries for economic development (more tax base, more jobs, transfer of ownership to benefit private economic interest, blight, anything you can think of) has been widespread across America since the 1950s. This is our most recent lost history.