Government Shouldn’t Have the Power to Take Private Property for Free

The Supreme Court must reverse the ruling of a lower court in Love Terminal Partners v. United States.

By Joel C. Peterson

While public attention is riveted on Democrats with extravagant proposals for government expansion — a Green New Deal, single-payer health care, tuition-free college — few observers have noticed a recent federal court ruling that will, absent Supreme Court intervention, grant the government immense powers to confiscate private property in violation of the Fifth Amendment.

The Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution mandates that private property cannot be taken for public use “without just compensation.” But this clause was eviscerated by U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Love Terminal Partners v. United States, which held that any property not earning a current positive cash flow can be taken by the government without a dime of compensation. Unless this ruling is reversed on appeal, it will have a devastating impact on the value of millions of properties with excellent prospects for appreciation but no current tenants. And it will put all real-estate investments not earning money at risk of being stolen by the government..........To Read More.....