The Supreme Court ruled last week that your home can be seized by the government if it is determined to be in the public’s interest. Can you guess what constitutes the public’s interest? Go ahead. Guess. How about a brand spanking new Chuck E. Cheese restaurant?
YES SIR.
In fact, anything that generates more tax revenue than you is considered “public interest.” No joke - according to this ruling, your home can be bulldozed so they can put up a shopping mall. Resident defendants in the case argued that cities have no right to take their land unless it is for clear public use, such as roads and schools. But the 5-4 ruling in favor of local government means communities can decide they’d rather have a Wal-Mart where you live and vote you out - not unlike Survivor.
“Mr. Homeowner-for-43-years…sorry, the bribe has spoken.” Then they'll put out your torch, tear down your porch, and bring the wrecking ball down on your life. You’ve been voted off the urban island.
I guess I’m old school with regard to this public interest crap. If it’s my house and my land, it’s my fucking house and my fucking land. You want a mall? Build one around my fucking house. And knowing local government pinheads – they probably would. They’d construct a 4-story enclosed mall around my house. I’d wake up everyday to the sound of screaming children on a carousel. I’d open my windows and smell Cinnabon. My backyard would be populated with a noisy fountain, a Sunglasses Hut, and a Piercing Pagoda. And every day I’d have to drive through Sears to get to work. Who hasn’t wanted to do that?
Public interest my ass. The public doesn't make decisions on what's considered "public interest" - politicians do. And politicians are paid for by special interests. Tearing down a townhouse to put in a Starbucks and a Supercuts is in the best interest of Starbucks and Supercuts. While I welcome the convenience of being able to pay too much for average coffee, I'm not going to tell my neighbor he's got to move so I can enjoy that convenience. Yesterday it was someone else's house - tomorrow it's yours or mine.
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2 comments:
Terry, you are like Douglas Adams (of Hitch Hikers' Guide to the Galaxy fame). So eminently quoteable, so many snippets of profound social comment. Did you ever read Douglas Adams' posthumously published book 'The Salmon of Doubt'? After he died they were going through his miscelaneous ramblings on his computer & decided to save them & publish them because they were too good to be lost I would reccomend this book to you because your AYNTK posts are a bit like this book & his comments were a bit like yours on how the world works with all it's glorious? shortcomings.
Joe
Joe,
I love Douglas Adams' work and am flattered to be mentioned in the same paragraph. I'm not one to laugh aloud while reading...but the Hitchhiker's series had me in stitches from start to finish. Great stuff, to be sure. I don't know that I've read The Salmon of Doubt, however. That might be a babelfish worth catching next time I'm out and about...
Thanks for the tip!
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