Rights Boy’s good friend Mike Burgher opined about Eminent Domain in this morning’s Des Moines Register. I don’t think he likes the concept very much!
You can find his edited letter, along with comments from other readers, here.
The unedited opinion follows.
The recent report ‘Eminent domain bills take aim at loopholes' demonstrates that the Iowa Legislature can, in fact, work on important legislation in between trying to solve non-issues in the state.
The Supreme Court decision in Kelo v. City of New London should have sent shivers down the spines of all property owners. Private property is not something loaned to you by the government until it decides to take it back and give it to someone else. It is a fundamental right in America; private property is the foundation upon which many other rights are built and justified.
There is simply no excuse for government to condemn a taxpayer’s private property and turn it over to their favorite real estate developer or lobbyist to build a lake or river front shopping center.
And take note, Des Moines City Council, it's also no excuse to lean on a property owner in the East Village because you don't like the color of his building.
Way to go Legislature! Tighten up the loopholes. You got this one right!
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