Your Government is Working for WHO?

Our Supreme Court ruled Thursday that local governments may seize people's homes and businesses against their will for private development in order to raise tax funds.

The ruling was a defeat for Connecticut residents whose homes are slated for destruction to make room for an office complex. They had argued that cities have no right to take their land except for projects with a clear public use, such as roads or schools, or to revitalize blighted areas.

As a result, cities now have wide power to bulldoze (any) residences for projects such as shopping malls and hotel complexes in order to generate tax revenue.

Your property may now be taken for the benefit of another private party; the beneficiaries are likely to be those citizens with disproportionate influence and power in the political process, including large corporations and development firms.

Scott Bullock, an attorney for the Institute for Justice representing the families, added: "A narrow majority of the court simply got the law wrong today and our Constitution and Country will suffer as a result."

At issue was the scope of the Fifth Amendment, which allows governments to take private property through eminent domain if the land is for "public use." Susette Kelo and several other homeowners in a working-class neighborhood in New London, Conn., filed suit after city officials announced plans to raze their homes for a Riverfront Hotel, Health Club and Business Offices.
New London officials countered that the private development plans served a public purpose of boosting economic growth that outweighed the homeowners' property rights, even if the area wasn't blighted. City officials envision a commercial development that would attract tourists to the Thames riverfront, complementing an adjoining Pfizer Corp. research center and a proposed Coast Guard museum.

Under the ruling, residents still will be entitled to "just compensation" for their homes as provided under the Fifth Amendment. However, just compensation will be decided by a private board; not through detailed market analysis.

Your Home Could be Next…

· Do you have a gorgeous River View? - Hotels may want it in order to build luxury resorts, and you can't stop them.

· Paid a lot for that Lake View? - Your land could generate more tax revenue through a Casino and Cruise Line.

· Do you have a beautiful panoramic view of the mountains or canyons from your house? - Others will want it also, and now you can't stop them from taking it.