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June 24, 2005
A Victory for Wal-Mart
The Supreme Court's decision in the Kelo case has created a rare phenomenon in the blogosphere - bipartisan anger. Wil Collier at Vodkapundit has a good take on the terrible decision:
This is a dreadful decision. If politicians have the right to take your private property and give it to somebody else just because the other guy claims that he can generate more taxes from it, then property rights have ceased to exist in the US.Today, Howie Carr made much the same argument - property rights are now dependent upon the honesty of local elected officials. Howie said given how dishonest a lot of these "hacks" (one of his favorite words for elected and appointed officials) are, he's not optimistic about the chances for property rights.The localities are still required to pay "a just price" when one of these takings occurs, but the price even a willing seller would be able to get from his property just took a huge hit. All a developer has to do now is make a lowball offer and threaten to involve a bought-and-paid-for politician to take the property away if the owner doesn't acquiesce.
Jay at Wizbang has a well-done post detailing the history of property rights in the United States. It gives readers an idea of just how much damage the Supreme Court did today.
I can't help but see the irony of the timing. The same day Democrats introduce a bill meant to punish Wal-Mart, the most liberal judges on the Supreme Court hand the retail giant and other 'big box' companies a huge gift. Imagine. Wal-Mart wants to move into a town and sees a tract of land inhabited by a trailer park or small subdivision. It likes that land. The houses can only produce $600,000 in property taxes a year. The retail store? Over a million. Wal-Mart threatens to take its store, tax revenue and jobs elsewhere if they don't get that bit of land.
What's a town planning council going to do? Here in Maine, given how towns are hurting for business and tax revenue, I think many town councils are going to declare eminent domain and take the land.
Some are worried about the effect of this ruling on churches. I think some churches may be vulnerable to this ruling, but not all of them. If a church is in a residental neighborhood, it's safe because NIMBY takes effect. No homeowner wants a big box business next door, but most don't mind a church. It's the churches in downtown or business districts that should worry about the intentions of their local governments.
Overall, this is a terrible ruling that gives government far too much power. It makes the president's job a lot easier when he campaigns on the need for confirming judges.
Posted by slublog at June 24, 2005 12:00 AM
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