Theft by Vote

BlogHOUSTON has a post up on the potential for eminent domain abuses by Houston’s favoritest incompetent bureaucracy, Metro. Frankly, the idea that anyone would let the addled liars that run Metro anywhere near eminent domain power is frightening. Of course, I think eminent domain is an archaic legal holdover from the divine rights of kings days and should be abolished.

The idea that your neighbors, through their friendly minions in the government, have some claim to your property for the greater good is fundamentally immoral. How anyone can defend the practice on any grounds but perceived necessity is beyond me. Yeah, it makes it easier to get major public works projects completed. So what? It’s easier to deal with homeless people by shooting them in the head, but it’s still morally repugnant. Why is theft somehow more acceptable if you dress it up with a fancy name like “eminent domain”? Eminent domain is the government taking your property for someone else’s benefit. Period. Dress it up all you want with pretty rhetoric and it still means theft. I realize you may not believe me, since I’m just some libertarian nut who rants on the Web. So go here and download the report about eminent domain abuses. Get back with me if you think eminent domain is still a peachy concept.

Even if you think it’s a good idea, don’t you think that perhaps any organization with eminent domain power ought to be directly accountable to voters? Unlike, say, Metro or the Harris County Sports Authority? I’ll even gloss over the mismanagement and lies that Metro engages in for the sake of argument. Why would you hand this power to an unelected body? Isn’t that kind of dumb? Don't you have a lot less recourse if something goes wrong?