Thomas Sowell on Property Rites
The conservative Republican economist weighs in on the Supreme Court’s ruling in Kelo vs. New London ruling. The high court ruled that the Fifth Amendment – which has a public use clause – enables local governments to snatch private property for private economic development whether it benefits the public or not: “What the latest Supreme Court decision does with verbal sleight-of-hand is change the Constitution’s requirement of ‘public use’ to a more expansive power to confiscate private property for whatever is called ‘public purpose’ – including turning that property over to some other private party….When the 5 to 4 Supreme Court majority ‘rejected any literal requirement that condemned property be put into use for the general public’ because of the ‘evolving needs of society,’ it violated the Constitutional separation of powers on which the American system of government is based. When the Supreme Court majority referred to its ‘deference to legislative judgments’ about the taking of property, it was as disingenuous as it was inconsistent. If Constitutional rights of individuals are to be waved aside because of ‘deference’ to another branch of government, then the citizens may as well not have Constitutional rights. What are these rights supposed to protect the citizens from, if not the government?”