Eminent Domain is bullcrap

[Terminal23]

This will mwke your blood boil.If it doesn't it should.
http://boortz.com/nuze/alabaster.html

[CERuppel]

Not to sound mean or such, but this story is happening, and has been happening, for a long time.

Big foot businesses (home depot, wal mart, and such) use this all the time in order to get the land to build their private profit-ty (joke). The fact is that the use of eminent domain is likely a linch pin in a large percentage of major development deals.

Families get evicted, or the property is condemned, or some other loop hole is exercised by the goverment. This reduces the "just compensation" to pennies on the dollar. Then the land is GIVEN to the developer to use as they see fit (I hope with a writen contract).

Locally this has been used in a very unusual way. Pontiac used some loop hole to annex land of neigbor Bloomfield. The land was mostly in the developers hands, but needed Pontiac to get the land out of Bloomfields limited zoning laws.

But it doesn't end there. Seems that after Pontiac went out of its way to get the land, and then gave tax breaks and other bonuses to the developer, the developer is looking at not building after all.

Thats right. Millions of dollars of tax payer money spent to give this non resident (and non taxpaying company) a prime slice of land. And the best use that he has for the land is to sell it to someone else (possibly right back to Bloomfield if his development is not built...).

Here's the kicker. Just based on the city (Pontiac or Bloomfield) the taxes and the property value changes drasticly. Pontiac has its own income tax, while Bloomfield is some of the highest property values in the state. By selling the property and building houses in Pontiac the builder will be able to cut his costs nearly in half (even with the income tax). Then the courts drop the bomb and the land with the new houses goes back to being Bloomfield. Viola', more profit than you can shake a stick at..

And the only causlties are the Pontiac city tax payers, and who cares about them poor people?

In closing I would like to say that this whole concept sucks. Revoke Eminent Domain itself until such time as the law has in place the sefeguards needed for the safety of the property rights of the individual.

[crouse]

Yeah.......... afraid they would have to haul me away in handcuffs.

Corrupt politics at their best. And that is why people have little faith in the electoral process. The PEOPLE of that town SHOULD be outraged as well, but undoubtably they don't see past the gleaming lights of the wal-mart they so desperately desire. I would love to know how much $$ that city is "granting" "giving" "paying" to wal-mart to build there. Usually wal-mart gets the land for free when they build somewhere.

Talk about redistobution of assets.....

[crouse]

In closing I would like to say that this whole concept sucks. Revoke Eminent Domain itself until such time as the law has in place the sefeguards needed for the safety of the property rights of the individual.

Well said, the only exceptions should be for federal and state highways, or public utilities.