Eminent Domain: Thievery By Another Name
Eminent domain is another deplorable practice that the government enjoys engaging in quite frequently and the term refers to the power of government to be able to force any citizen to sell their private property, whether that citizen wants to sell the property or not.
The state defends its force by insisting that they offer a good value (”just compensation” they call it) to those who they coerce to sell their property, claiming that the victims always receive an average market value for whatever property that the state is confiscating at the time.
However, eminent domain is an exchange that isn’t voluntary and so how can any value that the state assigns to the property be construed as a just value?
Just values are determined when two parties voluntarily agree upon a value, because they both see the transaction as being beneficial to them. One person wants the property more than the house and the other wants the money more than the property. If either of the parties’ freedom is violated in forcing them to make a sale at a disagreeable price, then that exchange doesn’t seem offered for ”just compensation.”
And there have been many occasions where victims of this practice have claimed that they never consented to the exchange and that it was strictly forced upon them.
Aside from the issue of value, the state insists that such an action is also justified because they supposedly confiscate the land for the better good of society. They claim that this state power is necessary if we want to have things like roads and bridges. But their action still constitutes coercion, regardless of their reasoning, because they are forcing people to sell who might not otherwise want to.
And we shouldn't be surprised that such a power has been abused and that there would be repeated claims of corruption when it comes to this use of authority.
Legal scholars have been writing about this topic for many years and they suggest that in many cases when it comes to the state exercising their power of eminent domain use, the victims of that are almost never made whole; they don’t receive fair compensation.
Many activists have been pushing for reform surrounding eminent domain for many years now, but it’s still practiced heavily by the state. The state’s use of eminent domain can be construed as a direct attack on private property and to many it’s seen as a violation of justice. Despite the view that the policy is overwhelmingly unjust however, many courts and federal judges continue to rule that eminent domain is a justified practice.
Pics:
Pixabay
Agriculture via agriculture.com/farm-management/real-estate/land/power-plays-lowner-rights-vs-eminent_301-ar48462
Pixabay
Sources:
http://ij.org/issues/private-property/eminent-domain/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/georgeleef/2015/08/28/its-bad-policy-to-use-eminent-domain-for-economic-development-even-if-it-sometimes-works/#78d39ee7f80f
http://wapo.st/2vuv935
http://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2583&context=llr
http://www.northjersey.com/story/news/2017/08/26/garfield-merchants-and-residents-brace-eminent-domain-fight/599805001/
http://mentalfloss.com/article/63514/7-maddening-examples-eminent-domain
Good article. I think taxes should be left in the garbage bin of history, together with slavery.
sounds rather civilized 👍
I feel that the governments are non just organization.Even though, I am still under the doubt that people can handle fairly without abiding set of rules... The solution must be better. But our nature makes me sad sometimes...
This is just one reason why I hesitate to invest.
I know it can. And it is. Occurs also in other countries.
This kind of thing is easy to see.
Good post.
Thanks. For your good writing and for sharing.
thanks for checking it out :)
Your post very interesting. Cause its happen in real life. I from indonesia like your post
I can't imagine how hard it would be for a family to be forced out of a property that could have historic family value. Its a tough topic.
so true, for these families and individuals after investing time and energy into a certain community for many years only to be forced out of it via this sort of coercion.. quite a terrible abuse of power
learning about this in my real estate class as we speak lmao
This is just one of the reasons why I'm hesitant to invest in real estate in the United States. I know it can, and does, happen in other countries too.
Upvoted and also resteemed :]
thank you :)
Politics is cruel, justice is for those in power and has a lot of money ..
The legal system is the strong 'arm' of the 'body' of government itself. One is the other. Any non-voluntary giving up of our rights and/or property is by it's very nature, enforcement.
The argument that it is for the 'greater good' or in the 'interests of the majority' is the democracy model of lynch mobs and gang rapists.
Slavery by any other name.
Never trust someone saying it's for the "greater good" especially when they have the State machinery on their side.
the "justice" system is in many ways a farce. People spending life behind bars for 1 joint meanwhile rapists walk free and CEOs when caught of wrongdoing often just get a slap on the wrist
I've always found this to be one of the most curious things that is still upheld by United States courts, especially since the founding fathers prioritized land ownership. But yet it still happens today. I picked up my local newspaper last week to see a case of this popping up. At least it still gets reported, but I agree that it does seem like a violation of the social contract set forth by our Constitution.
legalized theft