Gov't can take your house for private development

In a case that is certainly going to have a huge impact on perhaps each state in our great union, SCOTUS ruled today that just as government has the constitutional power of eminent domain to acquire private property to clear slums or to build roads, bridges, airports and other facilities to benefit the public, it can sometimes do so for private developers if the latters' projects also serve a public good. The 5-4 decision considered the fact that New London was looking for way to jumpstart its economy and by possessing and privately developing the land, they could create office buildings, riverfront hotels, and other commercial properties. The city would be barred from taking one's property and transferring it to another private owner strictly for the latter's benefit. But in this instance, Justice Stevens wrote that the city is promoting a variety of commercial, residential and recreational land uses "with the hope that they will form a whole greater than the sum of its parts" and bring economic benefits to the general community.

Wow.