For the public good
There might not be a lot of talk about Proposal 4, but everyone in Michigan would do well to learn about it.
Why it matters
Voters would be wise to vote yes on Proposal 4
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.
