For the public good

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There might not be a lot of talk about Proposal 4, but everyone in
Michigan would do well to learn about it.

Then they should go out to the polls on Nov. 7 and tell the
government of this state what they think —with a resounding “yes.”

Proposal 4 would amend the state constitution in regards to “eminent
domain,” which is the government’s ability to take private property for
public uses.

The government should not be allowed to do that.

Eminent domain in many cases is a necessary evil; it allows the
government to forcibly buy property from citizens if the government
needs the property for something very important. A major new
thoroughfare, for example, may require a key piece of property to be
constructed.

Generally, if the government can show that taking the property
promotes the “public good,” then seizing that property is legal.

But recently, the government’s exercise of eminent domain has gotten
out of control.

Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a controversial 5-4
decision that the government can take property from private citizens in
order to sell that property to private commercial owners.

The Court said the higher tax revenues the commercial use of the
property would create constituted a sufficient “public good.”

Meaning if the government wanted to bulldoze a group of houses in
order to put in a mall, it would be perfectly legal —and the
citizens would have to pack up and get out with whatever “fair market”
compensation the government saw fit to pay.

Proposal 4 would stop the government from seizing property for the
reason of increasing tax revenue or promoting economic development.

It would ensure property owners are given at least 125 percent of
the fair market value of their property.

And it would hold the government accountable by requiring it
demonstrate the public use the property is to serve.

Proposal 4 is a necessary protection against overreaching government
that citizens of this state would do well to pass. It ensures the
adjustments to the law are permanent by writing them into the state
constitution.

And it holds back the government from using citizens’ property to
cure its economic problems.

In an election when jobs are on the forefront and gubernatorial
candidates are struggling to find a working plan to create jobs,
passing Proposal 4 is well-timed.

It will guarantee those plans for creating jobs won’t come at the
expense of the citizens the government is meant to serve.