A cornerstone of our great nation is the right to own private property and to retain the fruits of our individual labor. The Founders of our nation were convinced that core to the pursuit of man’s liberty and happiness is private property rights and that a just government will seek to secure those rights. Consider their words:

Thomas Jefferson: “wise and frugal government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, which shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouths of labor the bread it has earned.”

John Adams: “The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the laws of God … anarchy and tyranny commence. Property must be secured or liberty cannot exist.”

James Madison: “Government is instituted to protect property of every sort …. This being the end of government, that is not a just government,… nor is property secure under it, where the property which a man has … is violated by arbitrary seizures of one class of citizens for the service of the rest.”

The New York Court of Appeals (the state’s top court) has a different view of property ownership. It ruled this week that New York can use “eminent domain” to force homeowners and businesses to sell their properties to the developer of a huge development project in Brooklyn that includes a new arena for the New Jersey Nets.

For those not familiar with the concept of “eminent domain”, the term is defined as the inherent power of the government to seize private property from a citizen with due monetary compensation, but without the owner’s consent.

The New York constitution grants the state government power to take and clear substandard and insanitary areas for redevelopment. Chief Justice Lippman noted that this law was originally intended to address the problem of slums and to create replacement low-cost housing. He continues that in this instance, there are only “mild conditions of urban blight”. Justice Smith, writing the minority opinion, stated that while the northern area of the project suffers from some blight, the southern part “appears … to be a normal and pleasant residential community.”

In this case, the court sided with the state and a commercial property developer who sought the forceful sale of private property for the benefit of other private citizens. They relied upon a law that was designed to alleviate the suffering of the poor in unhealthy dwellings. The result is that private property is being forcefully taken from private citizens, the poor and all residents lose their homes, and a private developer is enriched. The underlying rationale is that this will end up being a better use of the property and that the broader community will benefit from the arena, shopping space, and more pleasant businesses. Let me state the rationale in starker terms: Depriving the one of his constitutional rights is justified as it benefits others.

This case is relevant to more than just New Yorkers as a similar case was recently tried before the Supreme Court, which also found for the “public benefit” and against the property owner. This trend is clearly one that impacts the entire each of us and the reasoning can be used to take anything away from anyone

Perhaps the neighborhood would be better off if the city took your house and built a park in its place (the neighborhood benefits). Perhaps the state should take away your car and require you to take public transportation (all living organisms benefit less pollution). If such is the case, is it really yours to keep or is it only yours to use until the government says otherwise?

Remember Adams’ words: “The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the laws of God … anarchy and tyranny commence. Property must be secured or liberty cannot exist.” With these in mind, one must ask whether the courts are treating property ownership as sacred as the laws of God, or whether we are being dragged toward anarchy and tyranny.

Source: Fox News

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