Private wealth under attack again

I was perusing my favorite blogs this morning and found an interesting topic over at Althouse: Hey, everybody! Let's raze Detroit, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Memphis. (http://althouse.blogspot. com/2009/06/hey-everybody-lets-raze-detroit.html).

Just how far will this government go to destroy the idea of private wealth?

I have no problem with any individual willingly selling their property to the government for any purpose. It’s the taking of that property that gives me chills.

Its bad enough when private property has to be taken for a public purpose, like a road. Lets face it, it is not feasible to route a road around a specific piece of property, so the idea of eminent domain is not completely crazy.

But for a school? Does a school really need to be in a specific spot? Will a mile or so in any direction really make a difference? I doubt it.

What about a sports stadium? Sure their city owned, but then leased back to a private enterprise (the Packers excepted) and unavailable for most public use, like a city park would be, and the entity they are leased to makes a profit on the space.

What about a shopping mall or a factory? Again, who put the government in charge of what constitutes the best use of a piece of ground? How can they decide that a car plant is a better use of a piece of ground than my farm is, and then take my land against my will to give it to another entity?

It was the urban renewal of the ‘60s that really started all of this crap, and nobody fought it then, as it had a good purpose. We HAD to take these slums away from the owners and let the government make the decisions on how to use the ground.

First they came for the Slumlords
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Slumlord.

Then they came for the Neighborhoods
and I did not speak out
because I was not in those neighborhoods.

Then they came for the farms
and I did not speak out because
I was not a farmer.

Then they came for the businesses
and I did not speak out
because I was not a small businessman.

What if the Feds decide that a family of 6 who lives in the ghetto in two rooms is actually entitled to your 4 bedroom home, because it’s just you and the spouse?

Then they came for me
and there was no one left
to speak out for me.


Kelo may have been a start, but we have a long way to go. The fight needs to start now.