Last week, former Representative Brad Miller had a WSJ piece calling for the use of eminent domain to “solve” the supposed crisis of mortgage foreclosures. At the time, I argued that this is a terrible idea and today’s paper has five letters from readers who could see that Miller’s plan is both unjust and bad policy. Here is my favorite:
Mr. Miller finds “no good reason” not to use eminent domain to rob Peter—in this case banks—to give to Paul—defaulted mortgage borrowers. Rationalizing the use of eminent domain to improve communities and stimulate housing was inevitable in the wake of the 2005 Supreme Court Kelo decision, and blaming banks for the 2008 financial crisis set the stage for future political bank robbery. Chipping away at the foundation of the U.S. economic system based on property rights and the rule of law apparently isn’t considered a good reason to restrain such “takings.”
Kevin Villani
La Jolla, Calif.
