A local politician once quipped that every decision makes someone mad, and eventually the number of mad voters reaches 51%. Then the politician loses.
But that ignores the power of the cult of personality that people like Barack Obama and Donald Trump have. It certainly served Obama well for two elections. And it might serve Trump, too. But his remarks about eminent domain probably have conservatives reeling, and that might include some Trump supporters, too.
Property rights are a central component of a functioning economy. Take that away, and incentive goes with it. The Supreme Court's decision in Kelo vs. New London was a real blow to individual property rights when it ruled that a government could take real estate from one person and give it to someone else who claimed to need it to advance his own economic interests. Oh, by the way, nine10 years later the Kelo property still sits vacant.
Anyway, Donald Trump embraced the Kelo decision with a bear hug, and it was a sober reminder that Trump is a real estate developer first and foremost. Not that there's anything wrong with that, provided however, that he is willing to respect other people's property rights. His recent remarks suggest that he isn't.
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