Property Rights & Eminent Domain - the Answer is Less Government
Bob Barr on: Property Rights & Eminent Domain
This year marked the third anniversary of the Kelo decision, one of the Supreme Court’s worst decisions in modern times. That decision dramatically limited the Fifth Amendment’s guarantee against the wrongful taking of private property by government. Kelo dangerously undermined the protection of property rights in America.
Private property should not be seized absent an overwhelming public interest, including actual use by the public — and even then only with fair compensation that truly reflects the value of the property. Allowing governments, at any level, to confiscate property without a compelling justification represents a serious attack on fundamental liberty. Government’s most basic duty is to protect individual rights, including that of private property ownership, not to diminish them.
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