Ginsburg, Kennedy, Souter, Breyer and Stevens...have got to rank among the Worst SC Justices EVER...OK, throw Brennan, Marshall, Burger and Warren in there too...
The June 23, 2005 Liberal abomination called the Kelo Decision DID spark a nationwide wave of reining in the use of Eminent Domain, but at such a cost.
Private property rights ARE sacrosanct in America...at least in America’s Constitution and for better or worse, we’re all bound by that document to “go down with the private property rights ship” should it ever prove non-seaworthy.
On that dark day back in 2005 five hooded, black robed “jurists” declared it OK for the town of New London Connecticut to steal the homes of dozens of its citizens to make way for a planned office park built by Phizer Pharmaceutical.
Ironically enough, the allegedly “Corporate-hating Left” wildly supported Kelo the way they mindlessly support virtually all government action no matter how destructive. But karma has appeared to have belatedly reared its head, as a scant four years after that decision that gave Susette Kelo's (pictured above) land away to "private developers" (yeah, private developers with deep government ties) for a project that was set to include a hotel and offices intended to enhance Pfizer Inc.’s nearby corporate facility, the pharmaceutical giant has announced it will close its research and development headquarters in New London, Connecticut.
So, while Susette Kelo and her neighbors lost their homes, the city of New London and the state of Connecticut spent almost $80 million to bulldoze private property for high-end condos and other "desirable" elements, it has all come to naught. Instead of a brand new gleaming office park, the wrecked and condemned neighborhood still stands vacant, without any of the touted tax benefits or job creation.
In FACT, New London has LOST the property tax revenues they already had in hand!
Perhaps the BEST commentary on this was posted by Ace at Ace of Spades HQ (http://ace.mu.nu/archives/294618.php#294618); “This cannot be emphasized enough.
“The people who run your city, the politicians who are full of bright ideas for improving your life by infringing on others' rights, and the black-robed genius who is tasked with interpreting our founding documents; NONE of these people are smarter than you.
“NONE of these people are gifted with superior insight on how better to run your life or use our native resources. But they believe that they are. So without the brake of morality or explicit law, these geniuses and pols and town busybodies will extend professional courtesy to each other as they go about dismantling your life for some dubious utopian idea.”
That’s 100% CORRECT!
If any of those folks were at all savvy about anything at all, they’d have realized there was absolutely no downside to letting those "private developers" negotiate buyouts with the owners of the homes they wanted.
Yeah, they MIGHT have had to pay through the nose to get those folks to move...and they would’ve simply charged more for their office space...and Phizer would’ve had to buck up a little more...and property values and perhaps property tax revenues would’ve gone up.
Instead, the whole affair is a net loss.
Think “the political class” will learn anything form this failure?
If you do...guess again.
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