Conservative Talking Points views the right to private property as the very foundation of our free enterprise and capitalistic society.
It's in the Constitution
· "...nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation." (Source: US Constitution - V Amendment)
Eminent Domain Issues
· The Institute for Justice, a non-profit law firm that has handled several high-profile eminent domain cases, found that at least 10,000 eminent domain abuses occurred between 1998 and 2002 alone. (Source: Dana Berliner, "Public Power, Private Gain," - Apr 2003)
· Officials in New Rochelle, New York decided in 1999 that a neighborhood with nearly 200 residents and numerous businesses would be condemned and better used for a retail-oriented development primarily for the Swedish furniture giant IKEA. (Source: NY Times - 2001)
· The Las Vegas Redevelopment Authority condemned Carol Pappas' apartment building and set it aside for eight casinos to build a parking garage in 1993. (Source: Las Vegas Sun - July 1996)
· The mayor along with the city council of Pittsburgh in 2000 attempted to condemn an entire downtown neighborhood in the Fifth and Forbes area and deliver it to a Chicago developer who wanted to create a nice shopping mall. (Source: Institute for Justice)
· Cities with the worst eminent domain abuses are Detroit, Riviera Beach, Fla., San Jose, Calif., and Philadelphia. [liberal cities of course] (Source: Jon Dougherty, WND - Apr 2003)
· The worst blow to eminent domain rights was delivered by the Supreme Court in 2005 backing Connecticut city of New London to turn 90 acres of waterfront land into office buildings, upscale housing, a marina and other facilities for a better tax base against the rights of numerous private property owners of the land. (Source: Washington Post - Jun 2005) [Still a vacant lot as of July 2012]
Top 10 States with highest US Government land ownership (Source: US General Service Administration):
· Nevada 84.5%
· Alaska 69.1%
· Utah 57.4%
· Oregon 53.1%
· Idaho 50.2%
· Arizona 48.1%
· California 45.3%
· Wyoming 42.3%
· New Mexico 41.8%
· Colorado 36.6%