The Fifth Amendment says that you can't be "deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation." Section eight of the Connecticut Constitution says the same thing. The five most liberal members of the Supreme Court disagree, and ruled today that governments can take private property and transfer it to other private parties. The case pitted residents of New London, Connecticut against their city and the development corporations who coveted their property.

"Any property may now be taken for the benefit of another private party, but the fallout from this decision will not be random," Justice Sandra Day O'Connor warned in dissent. "The beneficiaries are likely to be those citizens with disproportionate influence and power in the political process, including large corporations and development firms. As for the victims, the government now has license to transfer property from those with fewer resources to those with more. The Founders cannot have intended this perverse result. '[T]hat alone is a just government,' wrote James Madison, 'which impartially secures to every man, whatever is his own.'"

This is an extremely disturbing decision.

"Big Business and State Socialism are very much alike, especially Big Business." - G.K. Chesterton's Weekly, 4/10/26

I wonder what Thomas Frank thinks about this decision. He thinks of capitalism as business's getting its way with the little guy, with government's help. He seems to think of liberalism as when government stands up against business to protect the little guy. Well, in these cases we have a decidedly non-free-market situation, but one that Frank would call "capitalist." It's wanted very badly by business and government is stepping in to help business and screw the normal people (people without business or governmental power)...

and the liberals on the court did it.

Listen.....do you hear that? It's the sound of our rights getting eaten away. There ought to be a law! Oh yeah, there was one. Next election, I'm voting these guys out.

My God! The Supreme Court just symbolically defecated on the Constitution! What's wrong with these so-called Justices? Have they not read the Bill of Rights?

This is horrible. Most depressing news story of the year by far.

"My God! The Supreme Court just symbolically defecated on the Constitution! What's wrong with these so-called Justices? Have they not read the Bill of Rights?"
Dam right they crapped on our constitution. This is typical elitist fashion. These "justices" and other people in a position of power think to themselves, "Its not my property, so I dont give a $hit Ive already got mine so I dont care about the 'little' man."

The Democratic party. The party of the "little guy" always on the side of the underdog. The Democrats are very cunning, they know the overwhelming power that the courts have and by blocking all these judicial appointments they hope to get the Republicans to give in and put forth more David Souters to the Supreme Court and at other levels of the judiciary, while their judges trample all over the Constitution and permeate their Marxist ideals on down to the rest of us. Evil plain evil.
RC great judges your party puts into power. The party of the common man?

What a joke of a situation. When are we going to come to our senses and demand Eminent Domain be abolished forever?

Of interest I note that one of F.A. Hayek's works highlighted in the Bookclub section, "The Fatal Conceit", has a section in it entitled "Where There Is No Property There Is No Justice". How appropriate given this recent Supreme Court assault, er ruling, on private property. A happy coincidence on the part of Mr. Flynn? Hmmm. I for one intend to read Hayek's work at the earliest opportunity.