The concept of private property is supposedly held in very high regard in the United States. In fact, the 5th Amendment to the Constitution makes it clear that private property cannot be taken from any entity without due process of law, “…nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.” The important thing to consider is that societies are meant to be structured in a way in which the people are able to best be benefited by being an integral part of that society. So then, to the extent that roads, bridges, dams, and other meaningful governmental infrastructure projects need to occur and thus be constructed, for the greater good of the people, then there are certainly going to be those situations in which the government has a reasonable right to utilize eminent domain in a fair and open way, to compensate the private property owner for the selling of that property to that government, for the public use and benefit of the people.
Yet, regrettably, when it comes to the United States, it is always a mistake to discount the overall corruption, unfairness, and power of those that have lots of money and influence to take a law that is clear and obvious, to thus make that law bend to the will of that powerful interest, and especially to private for-profit interests. Certain of those with money and influence, are prone to using such in a way and manner that will benefit them, and because of that money and influence, they recognize that just because a particular law is on the books, and has been historically interpreted within narrow bounds, does not necessarily mean that this will always be the way that it will be. That then, is why it is that nowadays those that own private property, that is considered to be in the way of such nebulous objectives such as “urban renewal” or for private industry development that will, in theory, increase the tax base and thereby be a more efficient usage of such space, or as a required necessity to remove blight from a given area, are all considered to be a fair and proper use of eminent domain, as per specific court decisions.
The reality of how eminent domain is currently utilized, is the salient fact that those that have little or no power are no match for those that have a whole lot of power and influence – so that the upshot is that the government thus plays favorites, in which, those that are on the losing side, have their private property taken from them against their will, and that property so taken, has not be taken for a public use, in any fair sense of that purpose, but rather has been taken from them, to accommodate private enterprise, in conjunction with the prevailing governance of that community, not for the public benefit of the people, in whole; but rather for the anticipated profit of the few, and thus almost exclusively for the private benefit of those few and favored.
In America, there are deals, and there are raw deals – and it is always a raw deal when one person’s private property can be taken by the eminent domain of the government, so as to clearly favor influential private interests at the expense of the former private owner, with the public use justification of such, of no real consideration or concern.