Kelo v. City of New London revisited

I read a few days ago about a similar taking of properties in another city. An expanse of 90 acres of properties that had been tax revenue providing to the city were taken under the Kelo case law. To date NOTHING has been built on the land. The excuse was being broke and needing revenue, and that hasn't worked out well at all for the city.

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The day that verdict was announced was the day I lost my innocence in believing in our judicial system

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Also proves there is no such thing as PRIVATE property.

Property taxes do it as well, they are your annual rent fees from the govt., you no pay see who shows up at your door armed and with a court issued warrant to boot.

this thread should be combined with the "is it illegal to be in this country without papers". Those who feel that people from other countries are just as entitled to economic advantages of the US are the same people who believe the government has the right the take private property from citizens.

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Any attempt to take property away from someone without their consent is wrong. Whether it's for public or private use is irrelevant.

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Not under the Constitution.

But in any event, Kelo was a terrible decision.

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Unfortunately when the government has unlimited power and resources, the common man stands little chance of winning.

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Actually the backlash from Kelo has caused state governments to actually strengthen the limits on eminent domain.

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entitled to seize, in a process known as eminent domain, the homes and businesses of Kelo, the Cristofaros, and five other nearby property owners in the name of “economic development” that would generate “new jobs and increased revenue,”

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How do you think they're getting the land for the Keystone Pipeline?

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Is there any state or locality that doesn't have a property tax?

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Not that I am aware of.

My biggest problem with property tax is it can actually force retired people with no income to sell their homes or land.

A half million dollar piece of property is taxed every year based on the value...determined by the local government. Yet $500,000 worth of stock is only taxed on dividends, not the total value of the stock. I know this is an apple to orange comparison but it makes my point. Why not tax property on the buy and sale just like stock?

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have a way of actually assigning your rate of consumption for govt services

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I think the number of dependents is actually a better gauge of public service consumption rather than property owned. Why should someone with no kids pay more for education than someone with 4 kids?

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I doubt they are actually seizing the property. It's like power lines running over your property.

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PARIS, Tex. — The Canadian energy company TransCanada can take over land owned by a Texas farmer to build its Keystone XL pipeline, a county judge ruled on Wednesday night. In a 15-word ruling sent from his iPhone, Judge Bill Harris of Lamar County Court at Law upheld TransCanada’s condemnation of a 50-foot strip of land across Julia Trigg Crawford’s pasture here. The pipeline is being built to carry oil to Texas refineries from Canada.

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Again, how is that different than power lines running over your property?