Back in August when Lola and I went to hear Junior Brown in Davenport, Iowa, we noticed a sign on a riverside building reading “This Property Is Not For Sale”. In the upside down world since the Kelo Decision last June, it may be prudent for property owners to have a disaster plan against the forces of our own Government.
[HT] Sharp As A Marble for a pointing out a Kelo Threat in Florida worth watching. Riviera Beach is one of the municipal islands along the Atlantic Coast north of Miami. It is not an enclave of wealth but the wealthy believe it has possibilities. The city has been talking with some guys from Jersey who are willing to turn parts of town into a Yacht Club and Housing Complex. The Jersey guys have the money but they need the land, so Riviera Beach is considering taking about 2000 poor black people’s houses and offering them “at least the assessed values”. That kind of windfall could probably buy bus tickets to Houston to see the Astrodome.
Mayor Brown said. "If we don't use this power, cities will die."
Kelo is dangerous precisely because it affirms the idea that government management of a city is more important than property ownership in a city. Any urban area exists because private citizens decide to own land and pay taxes. The future of New Orleans, for example, will be decided not by government planning but by how many people decide to continue paying taxes for the right to claim land below water level.
When any Mayor says, "If we don't use this power, cities will die", it is a defining sign that government believes their control over ALL of the land is more important that any individual claim of ownership to a home. This has a close parallel in how management of large corporations seized control of company growth and direction from the ownership of Stockholders. There is still monetary value in stocks but the historical concept of having any meaningful ownership control in company decisions is a joke. Housing stock may be headed down this same path.
