June 27, 2005
The Supreme Court has allowed for the biggest land grab since the 19th century gold rush.
By a one vote majority, the court has upheld the supposed right of the city of New London, Connecticut to seize private property and hand it over to developers in order to raise tax revenue.
Some have called this Robin Hood in reverse since many homes belong to poor people.
That’s a major reason many liberal groups joined conservatives in opposition.
As Justice Sandra Day O’Connor said in dissent, “any property may now be taken for the benefit of another private party.”
This case proves government increasingly sees itself as deity with people its servants.
If government lacks what it considers sufficient tax revenue, it can now take your house, pay you what government thinks it is worth, and sell the property to a business that will produce more revenue than your meager real estate taxes.
All outrages start at the extreme, but once a precedent is set, the sky’s the limit.
We saw that with abortion and now we’re seeing it with private property.
This is an outrage and Congress needs to do something about it.
I’m Cal Thomas in Washington.
Cal Thomas is a nationally syndicated columnist based in Washington, D.C. Watch his television show, After Hours with Cal Thomas, on the Fox News Channel, Saturdays at 11 p.m. Eastern Time.
