Philly Plans Eminent Domain To Displace Private Projects With City Ones
“It’s customary, when discussing eminent domain, to allow that it’s a necessary use of state power that enhances the good of the community, before then going on to discuss whatever horrendous abuse is being committed this week through the application of the government’s ability to take private property for “public use.” I’m not going to do that, because eminent domain is always, at its core, nothing more than government officials forcibly substituting their preferences for those of people who actually own the stuff the officials want to use. That’s at best. At worst, it’s a means for officials to aggrandize themselves and their friends, and a weapon to use against others. If you want yet another illustration of that fact, take a peek at the forever-entertaining City of Brotherly Love, where the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority plans to grab a couple dozen properties to develop for affordable housing, many of which are already slated for private development.”
Tuccille, J.D.. Reason.com 14 November 2012.