Stop government's rampant misuse of eminent domain powers.

[BigRog]

In recent years, money-hungry state and local government officials have joined with developers and big businesses in an unholy alliance to destroy private property rights. Their method is simple: government officials still desire more money to spend on new programs, political allies, and themselves, even though taxpayers have become better organized and less willing to part with their hard-earned money in recent years. So instead, they offer incentives to major retailers and other businesses that they believe will generate tax revenue and, rather than businesses purchasing land on the open market, governments frequently use their eminent domain powers to simply take the land.

In the Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution, the Founders laid out a carefully limited policy that allowed the government to take land owned by private citizens, but only for a "public use." Unfortunately, two terrible court decisions have led us to a situation in which large retailers and politically well-connected developers (including those pushing for new, taxpayer-funded sports stadiums) use government as a tool to transfer property from private landowners to themselves. Governments are more than willing to go along with these schemes because they see the opportunity for greater tax revenue.

The Institute for Justice - a non-profit law firm that has handled several high-profile eminent domain cases - found that at least 10,000 eminent domain abuses occurred between 1998 and 2002 alone. Now, taxpayers and property owners may finally have the opportunity to stop government's rampant misuse of eminent domain powers. The Supreme Court will soon be deliberating the Kelo v. City of New London case involving the Connecticut city's plan to sieze the homes and properties of dozens of families in order to make way for an "urban redevelopment" scheme. A favorable ruling from the Court in this case on behalf of property owners could put a stop to eminent domain abuse once and for all.

Unfortunately, some career bureaucrats in various federal agencies and the corridors of the White House seem to care more about preserving government power than they do about promoting the rights of individuals and the President's vision of an "ownership society." These elements are urging the President to file a "friend of the court" brief against property owners to enshrine into law broad eminent domain powers for governments.

You can take action on this here:
http://ga1.org/campaign/em_domain/

[Jay]

Here in my home town of Concord, Massachusetts,back in the 1960's the federal government began taking many peoples homes and property by eminent domain.  The idea was that they were going to turn Lexington Road ( the "battle road" ) the road which the British regulars marched into town to destroy stores of arms, and were subsequently chased out later that same day, back into a dirt path like it was in 1775 and make a national park out of it. Well, the funding fell through ( big suprise ) but they didn't give the land back. There are houses all up and down Lexington Road, owned by the government. Some were torn down ( if they were not historic ) others were restored, and some house the minuteman national park employees, but most just sit there with no one in them!  Now don't get me wrong, I'm very happy to have the national park here, and happy a good deal of the land surrounding the old north bridge ( which you see pictured in my avitar ) is protected so future generations can come and see where the "shot heard round the world" was fired, but I don't think they needed all those houses, especially where the plan fell through to turn the road back to dirt and make a comprehensive site out of the whole battle road!

How un-American is that? In the land of the free and the home of the brave, to go up to somone and say " oh, by the way we're taking your house" I agree with Rog, this is not what the founding fathers had in mind when they framed our laws!

This is a government of the people, by the people and for the people. Stand up and use your voice, or soon.....you won't have one!