Comments on: When they’re Right, they’re Right

By: B.A.D.

B.A.D. — Thu, 30 Jun 2005 08:14:41 +0000

Well, I’m an ideological libertarian, rather than a practical one. (i.e. a darwinist libertarian) If cities can’t redevelop because individuals are in the way…. too bad.

By: kcdem

kcdem — Thu, 30 Jun 2005 07:51:54 +0000

it seems like the main issues are emminent domain and the ‘public interest’; surely economic development is in the public interest, and how is taking private land in this case for an ‘urban renewal’ project really that different than school-building or road-building, they all would seem to advance the public’s economic interest. is emminent domain really the biggest problem and should it be done away with?
also, how are cities supposed to redevelop if they don’t have the power to take some private land for redevelopment, as unfair as it is to some individuals?

By: B.A.D.

B.A.D. — Thu, 30 Jun 2005 04:49:28 +0000

Injustice and a Great Economy are not mutually exclusive.

By: patr

patr — Thu, 30 Jun 2005 00:41:03 +0000

anon: Maybe it has. But I am highly suspicious of such government intevention like subsidies, unfair tariffs, creating unnatural monopolies, etc. These favor some businesses over others, which undermines the free market. The government should intervene in certain spots, like preventing and punishing fraud. But on a whole, it should take a laissez-faire approach. As opposed to a command approach, like in Communist and, to a lesser extent, socialist states. These are examples where the government has total control over the market, and we know what happens then.

By: anon

anon — Wed, 29 Jun 2005 23:49:00 +0000

“Some of the greatest injustices happen when government and the market mix.”

U.S. Business history would show that this partnership creates the greatest economy that has even been known to exist. You should retract that last statement.

By: patr

patr — Wed, 29 Jun 2005 05:29:11 +0000

kcdem: The vast majority of conservatives and liberals have come out against the Kelo decision. About the only people defending it now are on the editorial board of the NY Times, developers, and the few that I mentioned that do not support property rights. Basically anyone who owns property or ever hopes to own some sees that this is not right.

I personally am not worried about a growth of Walmart and Starbucks [to name the big 2] around the country and around the world. I see it as progress, the triumph of capitalism and globalization. What I don’t like is when these big businesses curry favor with governments in order to gain an advantage. Corporate welfare is just another type of welfare, and conservatives should be against it as well. Property rights are fundamental, so the government should not be able to take your property away for their benefit and the benefit of a business.

The market alone cannot force someone off land that they own. If you bring property taxes into the picture, then that means that the government is involved. So libertarians do care, as we can see from their support of California’s Prop 13. In fact, it would be even better if we could get rid of property taxes. Some of the greatest injustices happen when government and the market mix.

By: kcdem

kcdem — Wed, 29 Jun 2005 04:27:26 +0000

i haven’t read much about reactions to the property case, but I would think that the reactions would be different depending on which type of conservative or liberal you talk to: for example, i would imagine big-business conservatives would be happy with the decision as would big-government liberals; on the other hand, i would green-liberals would be very disappointed with the decision as they’ve been ranting against unchecked development, sprawl, and the ‘walmartization’ of america for a long time; i’m kinda surprised that libertarians are so unhappy with the decision because if the government weren’t involved i don’t think they’d care; in this case the government forced someone to sell property for development, but if the ‘market’ had forced the person off her land because of rising property taxes associated with development i don’t think libertarians would care