Transcript of Eminent Domain Discussion

As I pointed out yesterday, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch today at noon hosted an online discussion about eminent domain, featuring former Show-Me Institute editor Tim Lee. The full transcript of that discussion is now on the Post-Dispatch site. Here’s an excerpt that gets to the heart of the issue:

I believe that the best solution is a constitutional ban on the taking of private property for private development. I think the last 50 years have demonstrated that other proposed solutions, such as tightening the definition of "blight," still leaves too many peoples’ homes and businesses vulnerable. The main problem is the Missouri constitution’s Article VI, Section 21, which was enacted in 1945 and gives chartered cities broad authority to seize "blighted, substandard, and insanitary areas." Peoples’ property rights won’t be protected in Missouri until this provision of the constitution is changed.

For more information about eminent domain in Missouri, be sure to read Tim Lee’s study on the subject: "The Specter of Condemnation: The Case Against Eminent Domain for Private Profit in Missouri."