I can't help but laugh when I hear liberals and conservatives rant about the Supreme Court's 2005 Kelo decision. This is the one where the Court decided that a local government may take land from one private entity and transfer it to another, so long as the transfer serves some sort of "public purpose." The outrage stems from the fact that the Fifth Amendment authorizes takings only for a "public use" such as national defense, highways, or other non-rivalrous goods available to every Joe Sixpack in sight.
The first reason I laugh is that the Court actually reached the right result, if only for the wrong reason: the Fifth Amendment and the entire Bill of Rights apply only to the federal government as a reminder of its enumerated powers. The Amendment does not restrain state governments or their subdivisions, so Kelo helps preserve local sovereignty (although it would have been even better if the Court had declined jurisdiction completely, since now the Court presumes to decide something beyond its purview and has augmented federal takings powers as well).
But the bigger reason I laugh is that government at all levels has been robbing Peter to pay Paul for decades now. Why the sudden consternation? Ever hear of Medicare, Medicaid, or Social Security? Ever hear of unemployment compensation? These are illicit property transfers whose only distinction from Kelo is that they concern money rather than land, but they are property transfers nonetheless. So on the one hand, forcible money transfers among private parties are hailed as wonderful and even "mandatory"; but on the other hand, forcible land transfers are condemned as theft.
This is the government you all wanted, so eat up.
The first reason I laugh is that the Court actually reached the right result, if only for the wrong reason: the Fifth Amendment and the entire Bill of Rights apply only to the federal government as a reminder of its enumerated powers. The Amendment does not restrain state governments or their subdivisions, so Kelo helps preserve local sovereignty (although it would have been even better if the Court had declined jurisdiction completely, since now the Court presumes to decide something beyond its purview and has augmented federal takings powers as well).
But the bigger reason I laugh is that government at all levels has been robbing Peter to pay Paul for decades now. Why the sudden consternation? Ever hear of Medicare, Medicaid, or Social Security? Ever hear of unemployment compensation? These are illicit property transfers whose only distinction from Kelo is that they concern money rather than land, but they are property transfers nonetheless. So on the one hand, forcible money transfers among private parties are hailed as wonderful and even "mandatory"; but on the other hand, forcible land transfers are condemned as theft.
This is the government you all wanted, so eat up.
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