The U.S. Supreme court, in a 5-4 decision, earlier this week the the FIFTH AMENDMENT to the U.S. Constitution, which states “nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation,” shall be interpreted differently.
Now, “Public Use” is better defined as “Public Benefit.” In otherwords, if some developer wants to build supermarket in your neighborhood, but 50 houses have to be demolished to be able to do it, they can petition to the local government on the grounds that the public will benefit more from the supermarket than they would from those 50 houses.
In short, private property rights have been all but eliminated by this ruling!
The assurance of private property and the rights that accompany it are one of the planks in something that we call the free-enterprise system, it’s what encourages (by protection) individuals (and firms) to improve a plot of land and thereby grow the economy. Without this protection, the incentive is removed, and the risks associated with investing escalate.
It’s time to contact your U.S. Representative and Senators and urge them VERY STRONGLY to act now to overthrow the Supreme Court’s ruling.
Or you could do nothing… and wish you had when they’re bulldozing your house to put up a strip mall.
