You think so? One practice that is beginning to become widespread is one whereby local governments through their industrial authority are using eminent domain to take possession of privately owned property and literally give it to another private enterprise to his purposes. In fact, it happened just out the road from me. You'll be amazed at what happened and if anyone wants to hear the details let me know. Now the question is. Will the city that get's AMZN use eminent domain to take possession of private property and then just hand it over to the richest man in the world? Furthermore will essential government services of the "winning" city become casualties by means of chronic underfunding in order to pay Bezos the ransom he demands?
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- Thread starter bacha29
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Is that happening in Seattle? We have three Amazon warehouses in KS that employ thousands of people. It makes pay very competitive in this area. Decent benefits from day one, and a lot of people who couldn't otherwise find work are gainfully employed there. Nothing is perfect. But I notice you throw in things like "world's richest man" in there? Are we supposed to hate him because he succeeded with a vision? Sam Walton didn't set out to ruin the world, just had a vision about how to conduct business more efficiently that actually benefits poor shoppers. Are we to hate his family because they are the richest family in the world?
Do you know how the land was obtained upon which the buildings were constructed? Governments job is to represent the interests of all people not just the wealthiest or the most powerful. In the part of the country where I live we treated those who have money whether they earned for themselves or in a growing number cases it was inherited with common respect same as we treat those who don't have money and government should do the same. Where you come from you treat them like god's. In fact just a few months ago here in this area we had a case where government stood up to the demands of a very wealthy and influential person and said NO! refusing to meet his demands when his ulterior motive was exposed. Yes Jeff Bezos is indeed the richest man in the world but that doesn't make him any better than anybody else.
The local government is doing it's job if it brings in business that provides work for it's citizens. No, no one wants to live next to a business that's poisoning the air or some such. But honest work that employs a population that's in real need of work is a good thing. And if someone gets rich in the process so be it.
The core question still remains. Should government be allowed to use it's power to confiscate property from and disrupt the lives of private citizens who have lived peaceable and lawfully compliant lives and hand it over to another private citizen along with other concessions simply because he promises but doesn't guarantee the creation some new jobs? Is that local government "doing it's job'?
Eminent Domain almost always applies to government projects for the greater good. And yes some municipalities have used it to screw local homeowners to get desirable land for retail projects that would expand the tax base. Don't agree with it at all. However projects like the Amazon headquarters will highly likely go into areas zoned for it and eminent domain won't be used. Except as a scare tactic by those who hate the wealthy.
Indeed, all you have to do is to pass an ordinance to change the zoning from residential to commercial/industrial then go in and hand the owners a bottom of the market price for their property along with a short time frame to get out. In the past eminent domain was used entirely for the purpose of undertaking a project that served the public trust. Schools, highways, airports flood control dams etc. It would appear that it has now been expanded to include the aspirations and demands of private entrepreneurs.
Very limited and people fight back. There's no way they going to plunk the headquarters down on residential property that's been grabbed.
Huge corporations are mindful of PR.
Yes you can fight back if you have the money but only until you're money runs out.
Indeed they have the money and the spin doctors to move public and political sentiments in their favor. It's all about money and power which as a result is placing to a greater extent then ever before the destiny of this nation in the hands of autocrats and oligarchs.
One man, one vote.
All the Amazon warehouses are in industrial parks by the way.
Which in many cases involves property owned by an industrial development authority which presents this question. How did the property fall into the hands of the authority and what steps did the authority take in order to gain possession of it?
Dude, exactly where are businesses supposed to put their facilities so that you can have a job? Seriously? Well Ma, time to head out to the Federal land in Nevada to work at the factory. See you next year!
They buy the land through private sale at a negotiated price agreed to by the parties involved.
That's what is done with industrial parks. And we have such parks and other zoning for a reason. Do you want someone operating a sawmill next to your home? A pig farm?
It will be fine
Well-Known Member
More big government imposition on private industry that you support. Freaking liberals.
A zoning board decides zoning matters. Industrial development authorities seldom do both. The key issue is the manner in which eminent domain can be used. Is an industrial authority's use of eminent domain to condemn and take possession of private property then part it out and resell it to another private interest in keeping with the original intent of the eminent domain laws ? Or is it simply being used to make some individual very wealthy?
I always thought he was a RINO. Instead we now see that he's actually just another evil, communist pinko, left wing extremist, snowflake liberal...... And like so many others, they're beginning to see now
that they are nowhere near as "conservative" as they think they are.
