Friday, September 15, 2006

 

Eminent Domain Propositions

Here's some quick links regarding California's anti-Kelo Proposition 90:

Pro-Property Rights
OC Blog
Flash Report -- Assemblyman Haynes is very disappointing.

Not So Pro-Property Rights
GOAT
California Progress Report
Land Use Watch
SoHum Parlance -- Worth a read for this statement: "What most property owners don't realize is that they don't really own their property. They own a tenancy in it. The commonwealth owns all of the land within its jurisdiction."

In short, the anti-Prop. 90 folks appear to be concentrating less on the substance of the issue and more on the sorce of the campaign's funding. Any other interesting blogs or articles would be appreciated.

Comments:
The quote is accurate, and every first year law student learns it in the first week of his/her real property class. If you don't believe me, stop paying your property taxes.
 
Not to be excessively technical, but the owner of property has a fee simple interest in the property (typically) with a tenant having a right to possess for a period of time.

Of course, to the more general point that one only has the right to possess his property while his taxes are paid, I'll certainly credit you the point. My point, however, being that the view of property as a mere tenancy to be given and taken at the whim of government is an anti-democratic view of the world. Without ownership of property one is entirely reliant upon government for his well-being.
 
Well, you still have a right in the value of the land - ie. the value in your purchase plus the improvements, rather than an inherent property ownership. That's precisely what the 5th amendment protects. The drafters could have written the Constitution in such a way as to negate the common law relationship altogether, but they didn't. They merely protected the investment.

I agree with you. I would like to see the law defined as a property ownership right which can be overridden only by a compelling government need, but that's not the way it's written. It's still the king's land.

I don't know if this is universally the case - most countries following Roman or civil law or some variant. Common law arose from the fiefdoms of feudalism, and perhaps the whole concept of emminent domain is an anachronism.

Nevertheless, the basic relationship remains at least technically.
 
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