Eminent domain needs to go. It goes against the founding principles of this country. The right to life, liberty, and property as John Locke stated, that was later changed by Jefferson to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
The problem is that corporations have found ways to manipulate the government at all levels in order to utilize eminent domain for their own gains. Many residents in Norman, OK are facing these same problems from the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority seeking to build more tolls (as if our state doesn’t already have enough). This allows them to continue their ponzi scheme to resale bonds that makes their contractor friends rich, while they take more land then needed in order to sell the excess off to private developers. Developers get the land cheaper than they could have on the free market, and everyone is happy except the landowners who are left with a fraction of the value of their land.
All that being said, it is a tall task to get municipalities and other agencies to realize they do not need eminent domain, due to laziness and/or lack of creative thinking. A likely response is that it will cost citizens more in tax dollars, yet they fail to recognize those citizen’s rights and many times don’t consider the time and costs associated with having to take people to court, nor the heartache it can place on the citizens.
As much as I want to see it gone completely, I think we need to take baby steps. Preventing it in cases of natural or man-made disasters, is a good step. Another is to protect our farmlands which is why I suggested this: Protect US Farmland from Eminent Domain