*This column originally appeared in the Augusta Focus n the spring of 2004, along with the above cartoon.

Freedom in our country is speeding toward extinction at the hands of those who swore to serve us - the politicians. All one has to do to witness this is to take a look at a growing problem in our government known as eminent domain abuse.

Eminent domain is the power that government gave itself, under the Fifth Amendment, to take private property with the prerequisite that it must be taken for public use. The Fifth Amendment states, “…nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation.” The root of the problem lies in the politicians’ interpretation of “public use.”

Legally speaking, “public use” refers to highways, post offices, public libraries, etc. These are all things that are generally needed in any community. However, the political connotation of “public use” has evolved to envelope any use of a property that will increase the monetary resources in the money vault of the government.

In the private sector, if one person or corporation wants a certain piece of property, they negotiate a price with the owner, though the owner may not want to sell. At this point, that is the end of the matter.
In the event of the government utilizing eminent domain, the owner does not have that option; the government just takes the property and pays the owner “just compensation.” At least it is “just” in the government’s eyes. When such cases arise, an agent provided by the government appraises the property, usually in favor of the government. There is nothing the owner can do about it – his property is gone.

In August 2003, eminent domain abuse reared its ugly head in the small town of Alabaster, Alabama. A private land developer named Colonial Properties Trust intended to build a Wal-Mart shopping center, but Colonial did not possess all of the land it needed. The owners, low-income families, who had lived in the houses for generations, refused to sell their land, forcing Colonial to take another route – government.

It seems Colonial had some powerful friends on the Alabaster city council. Since Colonial was unsuccessful in its bid to acquire the needed land, local politicians were persuaded to use the one right government has that Citizens do not have – the right to use force to accomplish its goals – and seize the land under eminent domain and sell it to them so the shopping center could be built. The payoff would have been more tax revenues in the form of sales taxes and higher property taxes rather than considerably less in property taxes alone.

Wal-Mart has surfaced as the centerpiece in another eminent domain abuse situation. In Denver, Colo., Wal-Mart found an ideal piece of real estate to place a store. The problem existed that there was already a strip mall at the location and no one wanted to sell. So, off to the city council where Wal-Mart sought to convince the politicians to seize the property and sell to them.

Costco, the retail superstore, also engages in utilizing eminent domain as a tool for corporate expansion. According to the book, Mugged by the State (author, Randall Fitzgerald), Costco regularly petitions local governments to seize desired properties for the development of new stores. The book also exposes the intentions of the company citing a comment made by a legal officer of Costco. The officer admitted to a shareholder that, “’there are probably dozens’ of Costco expansion projects nationwide ‘where eminent domain or the threat of it has been involved in acquiring land for redevelopment.’” Allegedly, some Costco officials have threatened local governments saying they would move existing stores outside city limits if the city would not cooperate with the property seizures.
There are politicians in our government who just do not believe in the concept of individual property rights.

Recently, President Bush appointed California Supreme Court Justice Janice Rogers Brown to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington. The appointment was met with disapproval by many in Congress, mainly because she is conservative and a strict constitutionalist. However, California Senator Diane Feinstein, was opposed to the appointment of Justice Brown because she was a steadfast defender of personal property rights for all Americans.

Eminent domain may have started out as a viable channel for expanding the interstate system and building schools, but it has become a tool of government plunders. Too many politicians today are making their own interpretations of “public use” and “just compensation.” I guess that’s what we get when we have a presidential candidate call the Constitution a “living, breathing document” that can be interpreted to suit agendas and changed on a whim.

Our forefathers never intended for the government to abuse Americans in this way or in any of the other ways that it does. Some politicians feel that the United States is the greatest country on earth – because of our government. Contrary to what their indoctrination dictates, the U.S. of A. is the greatest country that has ever existed because of one simple little thing – Freedom. One of those freedoms is the right to own property and the right to be compensated fairly for the transfer of ownership of that property. The politicians need to get their hands out of our pockets and let us enjoy our freedom.

For something on the lighter side, click here.