Property rights are under attack in Florida. There's a nice overview of the issue on Neal's Nuze (boortz.com). They're trying to pass a bill that allows developers to skip trying to buy property from the owners to build Wal-Marts and such, and instead go straight to the local government and ask them for it. If the local politicians care more about added tax revenue than actually protecting their constituents, and politicians have shown this to be the case time and time again, then the property is bought at whatever the government feels is a fair price with no input from the citizen-owner. You can bet the government's "fair price" is far below market value. One of Neal's listeners wrote an email to his representative in which he said he was against the bill and if the guy wanted his vote again, he better vote against the bill. The politician wrote back saying he doesn't respond to threats. I always thought withholding your vote from a politician you disagree with was a cornerstone of democracy, but this guy seems to think that votes are his birthright, and it's a threat to not vote for him. I thought politicians were supposed to represent their constituents, but in Florida they seem to represent big business and care not at all about the citizens.

This issue is growing, and such controversies are showing up all over the country. Soon it will come to a head and end up in the Supreme Court. Though I support big business and the free market, I am totally against business interests in this case. In fact it's anti-free market, because the property owners not only don't have the choice to sell, they don't even get a market price. I can only hope the highest court in the land remembers that this country was created "For the people, by the people," and not for business against the people.