by Paul Jacob
In a cruel twist of fate, Connecticut is nicknamed “The Constitution
State.” This small slice of New England, once known as the “Land of
Steady Habits,” is these days most famous for its abuse of the property
rights — thus abridging the constitutional rights — of its inhabitants.
A decade ago, local government officials thought it so important that they be able to take the homes of Susette Kelo and other families in the Fort Trumbull neighborhood, in order to simply hand their property to a ritzy private development — and moreover, to guard that awesome governmental power in perpetuity — that they litigated the issue of eminent domain all the way to U.S. Supreme Court, in Kelo v. City of New London.
The Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution addresses the issue of eminent domain with ample clarity: “nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.”
There are two restrictions embedded in that wording.
First, private property cannot be taken without “just compensation.”
Second, the Constitution does not contemplate private property ever being taken for anything but “public use.”
The takings engaged in by the petty tyrants running the City of New London, Connecticut, were not for a public use at all, but for an obviously narrow, private use. Still, the city coyly claimed in court that the transfer of property would serve a “public use” simply because the new development — a new headquarters for Pfizer, the multinational pharmaceutical company, and other shops and residential dwellings — would accrue more tax dollars for city officials to spend than would mere homes for middle class families.
By that logic, Americans would forever live in fear that officials in city or state or federal governments might decide at any time to steal their home or business property and give it to another person or business able to generate more tax revenue for these government officials.
That bizarre logic is, today, the official law of the land.
A decade ago, local government officials thought it so important that they be able to take the homes of Susette Kelo and other families in the Fort Trumbull neighborhood, in order to simply hand their property to a ritzy private development — and moreover, to guard that awesome governmental power in perpetuity — that they litigated the issue of eminent domain all the way to U.S. Supreme Court, in Kelo v. City of New London.
The Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution addresses the issue of eminent domain with ample clarity: “nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.”
There are two restrictions embedded in that wording.
First, private property cannot be taken without “just compensation.”
Second, the Constitution does not contemplate private property ever being taken for anything but “public use.”
The takings engaged in by the petty tyrants running the City of New London, Connecticut, were not for a public use at all, but for an obviously narrow, private use. Still, the city coyly claimed in court that the transfer of property would serve a “public use” simply because the new development — a new headquarters for Pfizer, the multinational pharmaceutical company, and other shops and residential dwellings — would accrue more tax dollars for city officials to spend than would mere homes for middle class families.
By that logic, Americans would forever live in fear that officials in city or state or federal governments might decide at any time to steal their home or business property and give it to another person or business able to generate more tax revenue for these government officials.
That bizarre logic is, today, the official law of the land.
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