Eminent Domain
Eminent Domain. This is a classic example of a concept which in theory should work but often fails in practice. Once upon a time , when the Bill of Rights was being written in addition to the already written, but not ratified, Constitution, the 5 th Amendment was inscribed. One part of this Amendment briefed about just compensation when government chooses to acquire private property. Reverting back to today , just compensation just seems like a pink elephant . This idea is used in eminent domain. When government uses eminent domain, it generally has only two objectives : to develop on the land or sell it to a corporation. Simply put, the government operates like a business that has legislative powers. What is the incentive for bureaucrats to buy private property at a just price? There isn’t any; they would want the lowest price. And when we bundle this with the socioeconomic system we live in – corporatism – then matters for citizens owning priva...