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December 19, 2005
Economic benefit hard to define
Crain's, Letter to the Editor
Although I appreciate Greg David's candor in his column on eminent domain, he skips far too lightly over the heart of the issue--the transgression from using eminent domain for truly and purely public purposes such as schools, highways, hospitals and airports, to using it for public good, i.e., economic development projects.
Defining economic benefit as morally justified is a slippery slope. Does a larger building or a Wal-Mart or a Home Depot generate more tax revenue and employment than a smaller building, a mom-and-pop hardware or grocery store, or a private home? Maybe, but Mr. David's daughter is correct that such a gain does not make it right and violates the principal of private property ownership on which America was founded.
L. Dixon
Posted by lumi at December 19, 2005 09:57 AM