I hope you all enjoyed the lesson on eminent domain. I think you all learned quite a bit, and hopefully you've already gone home and shared with your families what you've learned about this important issue. I hope that understand that anyone can be affected by this government "tool." Now I want you to sound off – I want to know what you think. Here's a little something to get you started:
"This is America. This is a country with free enterprise. You have all the rights to own your property, your own home, your own business. You have the right to build your American dream."
"The use of eminent domain is a delicate tool, but it is a tool and it helps keep a community clean; it helps keep a community vibrant. It's a good tool and, definitely, I don't think it should be taken away."
These are quotes by two of the people interviewed in the film Unintended Consequences: Eminent Domain. Use them to get your thoughts rolling. Does eminent domain have a role to play in our communities? What should government do to protect private property rights? What can we do as citizens to ensure that these rights are protected? I don't expect you to answer the questions directly (but you may as part of your thought process). These questions are intended to help you think about the issue.
This will be an open forum, which means your comments should post immediately. Do not copy the thoughts of those that post before you, but you can certainly work off of them. That means that you can comment on a comment – you can disagree, agree, or just comment on the thoughts of someone else – but give me your ideas.
Here are few links:
An interesting story from CBS News
http://www.reason.org/eminentdomain/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eminent_domain
Your comments must be posted by the of Sunday, March 15.
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14 comments:
Oh man, I guess I'm the first to blog.
I think eminite domain is actually a good thing, but recently people in the government just abuse that power by putting it to personal use. One of the vital rights tat the Founding Fathers thought of was private property. the government saw the need to be able to buy land for public use if the owner rejected. that's when they made eminite domain. Eminite domain shouldn't be used for giving it to another private owner who has more money, that isn't what it was made for. If there was a need for a school or a highway, then they could talk to the owner to debate a price. If the person didn't want to sell, then they could first look at the options for making it. If that is is the absolute best place, THEN they can use eminate domain. This isn't for forcing people to sell there homes just because the government rather have someone else be there. I think that's abusing it.
Eminent Domain is not fair for those who enjoy living peacfully. Let's roleplay... a five-year-old buys a balloon at a park, but after acouple of days of intense fun with his new balloon friend, a bully comes along and takes it. The bully knows that if he only had a baloon he could sell it to another kid for ten times the amount it was origionally sold for. Personally, I do not want to be the only child left baloon-less at my school. It lowers self esteem and character, much less, leave you broke and homeless. Eminent Domain is not fair to ANYONE who has worked hard for their earnings. I beleive the government should learn thet they get what they pay for and if the property they want is THAT important the amount of money asked is what they pay (of course it must be slightly reasonable). My vote... Get rid of the stinky hooligan! God bless Washington and other founding fathers but this is where they really screwed up.
Eminent Domain should not be happening in any part of the world. It is an unfair and it destroies peoples lively hood of how they've been living and want to keep on living. No matter what use we find for the land in which we wiped out peoples homes, eminent domain shoudld not be happening anywhere. What if it was you who found out you were leaving your home of memories or your favorite neighbors? What would you do then. I can tell you for one that i wouldnt be the person who gets pushed aside in this matter. I would take action!
hey yal. so im not actually using a keyboard o even a computer. im using my ps3 because neither of my computers work right now. so mr.veliz im sorry that this really shor, its extremly hard to type. i think emenient domain is a very good and useful tool, wen used in the right cercumstances for the right reasons. but you really also have to look at the governments point of view, they cant be softhearted with every single case. and on the video im sure they were trying to convince the watchers to dislike emenient domain. and im also sure that they were only showing us the most extreme cases and only half the details. ok this has taken me nearly 30 minutes to write and my thumbs are tired.
hello i am kind of in the same situation as darin but im using a wii :-/. i think eminent domain is a good and a bad tool. i can see why the government would use it but think about if you had raised your children in the house and basically lived half of your life there. then suddenly you get a letter saying that the government doesnt want your house there because they plan on building a mcdonalds where your house or office is. wouldnt that really suck? i would be pretty mad.
Eminent domain can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on the circumstances. some eminent domain is bad like when the government wants to take a wooded property and give it to a private owner to tear down all of the trees and build a walmart and a costco because they make more money. in some places if the private owner doesn't get the property when they want it right away they will just destroy everything out of spite. true story, it happened near my grandparents house. people need houses just as much as the very rich people that own walmart do but the walmart people already have huge houses and they really don't need that one spot for a store just because they think they will get more money than they need. if the government is going to put in a school or something that will benefit more than just the walmart people and the government people who's paycheck is part of that money. it needs to be a real reason and if it is a good legitament reason most people will sell for a good price with little or no hassle but when you force people for the lowest price possible to sell it to someone who wants to tear everything down and make a parking lot or a store that we already have four of in town like walmart or publix.
I think that eminent domain is a good and bad tool all at the same time. I think that it should be used for good public uses such as schools and police offices and not for private companies to expand their businesses. I think it is a bad tool because many people are taking advantage of it and that is not right. Everyone in America has the right to own private propert and ect. but then why is eminent domain allowed? It is not right to put someone on the street to get more money and thats just greedy. Our four fathers have built America for us but I think that back then they weren't thinking about how this situation would be used. That's what I think on eminent domain.
Wow, not many people blogged this time. Anyway, I agree with just about everyone who blogged here. espacially Emma kearley (sorry if i spelled that wrong!). Yah I kind of have the feeling she was talking about Fallschase. I totally agree that they shouldn't have made a Walmart there. To me it seems that when our economy is falling, Walmart is rising. They're everywhere!!!!!
Eminent domain was a tool intended to help the community by building schools, police departments, ect. and not to expend some German businesse's parking lot! Damn those Germans, they are shhtealing propery from people who lived there and been calling it a home just because it get the goverment more money. The founding fathers created Eminent Domain in order to help out the people and their communities not to destroys them. I tought American was the land of the free not land of eminent domain!
I agree with christi and think that eminent domain can be really good but the goverment is definatly abusing its power in some cases...like the Fallschase situation. Walmart is all over the place we dont really need another one!!!
Eminite domain is NO FAIR AT ALL!!!! people should be able to keep there homes if they payed for it. I mean i dont agree with it but if your renting a place and cant afford to rent it anymore then ya i guess its ok but its still mean. But if you buy a home like pay $400,000 dollars for a house and they take it away and what do you get for it nothing your now living on the streets with only the colths you had on the day they took your home away. if they did that to me i wouldn't be able to understand how that was fair. and i don't even get it now!
I think eminite domain can be put to good use, but can also leave a horrible mark on someones life. Eminite domain can be put to good use by turning land into schools or anything that could help the community, not to turn it into some car dealer ship. Eminite domain can leave someone homeless, left with nothing, and they have to say good bye to many memories and friends. I think its taking away peoples rights and leaving them with nothing. How would you feel if this happened to you. I don't think its fare to the people who had to work hard for the things they have,and then have to loose it all.
I think eminent domain could be put to good use but tearing down people's houses isn't right.
If the city wants to tear down my house for a car dealership. If, the government wants to take down an old building with no use, for a car dealership; that would be better. So, eminent domain is more a fifty/fifty situation. There are pro's and con's. But, forcing people to leave their homes just so the city can have a larger tax income isn't right.
And, Bruno, wow.
oops i spelled eminent domain wrong, hahahahaha. my bad.
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