By Henry Lamb ——Bio and Archives--September 6, 2010
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“,,,the acquisition and the assembly of real property and the leasing or sale thereof for redevelopment pursuant to a project area redevelopment plan . . . is hereby declared to be a public use.”This ruling destroyed private property rights. Redevelopment by private parties is not a public use, even if eight Roosevelt appointees said it was. This horrible decision was upheld in Kelo v. New London in a 5-4 decision. In her dissent, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor said:
“…a law that takes property from A. and gives it to B: It is against all reason and justice,… economic development takings "for public use" is to wash out any distinction between private and public use of property--and thereby effectively to delete the words "for public use" from the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment.”Since this 1954 decision, the federal government has expanded the envelope of power, taking private property without just compensation by prohibiting owners from using private property the government designates as wetland or as critical habitat or as a historical site or within the viewshed of a scenic highway or waterway. In recent years, government has forgotten that the Constitution limits its power. The Constitution does not authorize the government to require lending institutions to extend loans to NINJAs (No Income, No Job, or Assets). Yet, the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977, and particularly the revisions of the Act promoted by the Clinton administration required banks to make what came to be called “subprime” loans to people who had no means to repay. These examples of Government ignoring the Constitution are the reasons why the nation’s economic progress has slowed in recent years. These examples of government’s abuse of power barely scratch the surface, but the consequences of these violations are all around us. The current economic situation is directly related to the Community Reinvestment Act, and all the subsequent attempts to correct the problems the government created. The only solution is to return to the Constitution. Learn what it says. Know how your representatives vote on issues. Make sure that your representatives – at every level of government – honor the Constitution. Attend one of the many Constitution Day celebrations planned around the country during Constitution Week. Utah’s Freedom Conference on September 18 will address directly the Constitutional authority of the federal government’s land ownership. Take advantage of A More Perfect Union,” and view this dramatization of how the Constitution was made with your family. Every parent should make sure that their family knows how the Constitution protects individual freedom. Without this knowledge, government will continue to take individual freedom until there is none. Constitution Day is September 17th; celebrate it.
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Editor’s Note: Henry passed away in 2012. He will be greatly missed.