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Why would a factory qualify as a reasonably justified need? Unless it produces weapons in wartime, it’s a private entity engaging in private business and the go
by mikeash 9y ago
Why would a factory qualify as a reasonably justified need? Unless it produces weapons in wartime, it’s a private entity engaging in private business and the government’s role ought to be limited to making sure everyone plays by the rules. If the factory needs a bunch of land, it should have to buy that land just like you or I would. If it’s not practical for some reason, then the factory should be built elsewhere, or not be built at all.
- jstarfish 9y agoESID, but some rural areas really, really need the jobs that would be created a lot more than the sentiments of a handful of people who don't want to move. In such cases it's in the community's best interest to displace holdouts in order to grow the local economy.
- kelnos 9y agoIf it's a rural area, surely they can build the factor in a place where they don't have to destroy people's homes, no? Even if the state/county has to build new roads, power lines, water mains, etc. to support a new locale, seems like that would be better than taking people's land away. I'm sympathetic to the idea of using eminent domain to take land for public projects, but for a private company? Nope. That's simply insane.
- dahdum 9y agoImpeding, or just not encouraging, job growth in rural communities devastates them far more than rare eminent domain issues. Building all new infrastructure can quickly turn an endeavor unprofitable, resulting in it not being done at all. There is a balance, but I favor the use of eminent domain to expand economic opportunities to rural areas, as long as the buyouts are above market rate. Those that are affected are often the wealthier and older homeowners, not the struggling young families that most need help.
- KozmoNau7 9y agoFoxconn is not an "economic opportunity", it's a grey faceless corporate leech, which will suck the life out of the community.
- briandear 9y agoDon’t be ridiculous. Humans are going to work there. Humans are going to earn money there. And “a corporate leech?” You mean a company that actually builds stuff? Without this factory, what would you have the local residents do, get high on opiates or meth? Government are the leeches.
- facetube 9y agoWho will be held accountable if the predicted return on investment is not seen?
- KozmoNau7 9y agoIf you consider $14/hr for factory work acceptable. I certainly don't, especially not when you consider Foxconn's history of working conditions. I call it desperate people getting exploited.
- candiodari 9y agoThat must be why Foxconn factories have -extensive- barbed wire on top of their buildings to prevent employee suicides. Second, can we please agree this is NOT eminent domain. This is about government corruption to lower the cost of the eminent domain action to follow. Eminent domain would be that the government buys the house at market price, so that the people can buy a reasonably similar house somewhere else. That would, of course, satisfy all your objections. The government is working to destroy these houses without compensation, so they can save something like perhaps $5 million (maybe not even that) while throwing these people into the street. People are not opposed to this because their opinion is that these homeowners should be allowed to block economic development of a large area. People are opposed to this because they do not believe throwing these people into the street to save the government and the biggest corporation on the planet a small amount of money is acceptable. The government should be forced to pay as normal under eminent domain rules, and it should extract that money from the company wishing to settle there.
- test6554 9y agoThe whole point of property rights is that it only matters who owns the property, not who needs it.
- closeparen 9y agoProperty isn't worth much when it's not reachable by roads.
- KozmoNau7 9y agoThose jobs are $14/hr, according to the article. Exploitation, in other words.
- roywiggins 9y agoTax money funds the municipality's services for the residents, building a factory creates jobs and tax money, which flow back to the community. In theory, anyway.
- downrightmike 9y agoAll factories have been purposed to create weapons in war times. I wonder if this impacts undesirable voter districts for the current party?
- tyingq 9y agoI agree on factories, but there are other cases, like rail lines or highways vs farms where it's not so black and white.
- mikeash 9y agoTotally agreed. I’m not dogmatically agains eminent domain, I just think it’s crazy to use it for private projects.