Quote:
Originally posted by Spanky
The railroads were given the land. And lots of it. Not just a thin strip of land but huge tracts surrounding the RR. The taking of the land does not really bother me as long as the people are compensated. What bothers me is when the land is taken for the public good but the government does not acknowledge it has actually taken the land. LIke when a puddle forms in your back yard and the government decides you live on a wet land and therefore cannot develop. You still own title but the government has really taken your land for the public good without compensation.
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You start with a baseline assumption that you should be able to do whatever the hell you want with your own land. But that's never been the law. Paving over wetlands hurts other people, because of the particular value of wetlands for wildlife, etc. At common law, nuisance law limited how you could use your own land to harm others. In this century, as the common law couldn't keep pace with technological and scientific advancement (e.g., we trust EPA scientists to assess the harm of certain chemicals more than we would trust elected state court judges), these lines have been drawn by government agencies instead of courts, but the principle is the same.
And the whole "puddle forming" hypothetical is a little bit out there. You've been hanging with the Republican doctors a little too much.
