The Law of the Land

Originally Posted on Wednesday, March 08, 2006

There is a lot of talk lately about the upcoming Florida legislative session and the main two issues that legslators will confront: Affordable Housing and Eminent Domain. Of these two, which will be more important is a matter of heated debate just as much as their individual implications. In many ways though, the two issues intersect.

Eminent Domain is the right of the government to require landowners to sell their land at a fair market price to the government if the government decides that it needs the land for the improvement of the area. An incredibly complex law that digs at the heart of one of our most fundamental Constitutional Rights as Americans: the right to own property. If the government can take your property whenever it feels like (so to speak) than do you really have the right to own property? Or are you just leasing the property from the government? In which case what can humans actually own that is "Real"? Although our great Mother Earth will unfortunately, as Science claims, be destroyed by the progression of our Sun into a Red Giant, the land that covers her is still the most valuable physcial asset. If we cannot own any of that as individuals then what are we to strive for?

However, we must also consider ourselves as a society, as it is that gift of communication and interaction that has given us the comforts of modern life. It is the government's role to oversee the success of the society. The government would argue that this task requires the strategic planning and structuring of the neccessary components for a modern city.

There should be no question that the government must be able to excersize Eminent Domain when the implementation of neccessary functions such as transportation, electric, water, gas, telecommunications and other utilities is essential to the success of the city and thus the people of the city. However, the government should refrain from using the right Eminent Domain unless it is an Absolute Neccessity and all measures should be taken to strike an equitable settlement of the city's needs as well as the citizens whose land is subject to acquisition.

Tomorrow...Affordable Housing!