The Entrepreneurial Mind

Americans are like the frog in the kettle. The burner is on. The water is heating up. And we are naively oblivious to the fact that we are about to be boiled alive.

It is one year since the Supreme Court changed the definition of property rights with the Kelo decision. With this one decision, we have shifted ownership of property from an inalienable right of individual citizens to a privilege that can be taken away by a state or local government that decides they have a "better use" for our property.

I wish I could report that there was the kind of grassroots uprising that some had hoped for. But, there has been little progress to temper the effects of the decision that gives government the power to use eminent domain to take property away from small business owners and private citizens, often to benefit large developers and corporations.

From the North Country Gazette:

Wonder whether the threat of eminent domain abuse has grown worse since the U.S. Supreme Court's Kelo ruling one year ago this week?

Consider this fact: in just the past year, more than 5,700 properties nationwide have been threatened by or taken with eminent domain for private development-a figure that compares with more than 10,000 examples over a five-year period preceding the Kelo argument, according to one of five reports released Tuesday by the Institute for Justice (which argued the Kelo case before the U.S. Supreme Court) and its grassroots activism project, the Castle Coalition.

Fewer than half the states had enacted any legislation and efforts at the federal level have stalled, according to a summary issued by the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council.

And now the developers and power hungry politicians are fighting back.

- In Oklahoma the Supreme Court sided with developers who were fighting a proposed constitutional amendment to limit the use of eminent domain in that state.

- Governors in Iowa and Arizona vetoed bills to limit the use of eminent domain. Iowa is debating about whether to call a special session to address the issue again.

- In Connecticut, where this all began, there is a call from the Speaker of the House to end the voluntary moratoriums on the use of eminent domain and forget about any attempts to limit it through legislation.

- In Colorado, an effort to get an initiative on the ballot failed to get enough signatures.

- In New Mexico, the issue has been relegated to legislative purgatory as the Governor has sent it to a task force.

There is still progress on some fronts.

- North Carolina, New Jersey, South Carolina, Nevada, seem to be inching toward passing bills or getting initiatives on the ballot.

But sadly, I think I know how this game will play out. Americans have shifted their attention to other matters. We have softened the pressure on politicians to act, so there is less incentive for them to limit their own powers. Over time, we will see any progress that was made get quietly eaten away through new laws, court decisions, and regulatory actions.

Doesn't anyone else think that this water is getting awfully hot?