Once There Was Tank Man, Now There is House Family

A Chinese family resisting a government taking:

Surprisingly, the government hasn’t just bulldozed the place (yet).  Building a highway seems like a legitimate use of the eminent domain power of the state.  The problem in this case is that the state does not want to properly compensate the family.  The article suggests another problem in the case – but one that impacted their neighbors, not them, from the looks of things.  Namely, a lot of the takings appear to have been for a new business district rather than for public use.  Remind you of any place? 

So let’s not forget that what happened to Susette Kelo in New London, Connecticut was far worse than what the Chinese government is trying to do to this particular family.  Unfortunately, the same probably can’t be said for their neighbors and so many others in China (and elsewhere around the globe) where property rights have been violated and trampled upon by the government and their crony capitalist friends. 

Here is a great quote (one of the only?) from Sandra Day O’Connor on the subject: “The specter of condemnation hangs over all property. Nothing is to prevent the State from replacing any Motel 6 with a Ritz-Carlton, any home with a shopping mall, or any farm with a factory.”