Press release:
The United States Constitution was crafted to protect the rights of individuals. An Eminent Domain clause was entered into the 5th Amendment to protect individual property owners from seizure of their property without the just cause of “public use,” and not without "just compensation."
We at the Genesee County Libertarian Party (GCLP) stand firmly against the seizure of the Douglas family home in East Bethany, NY. There can be no "just compensation" for a family who is forced to sell their home against their wishes. This violation of rights affects all taxpayers as well, since there is no justice in forcing said taxpayers to compensate property owners for a theft committed by bureaucratic means.
While it may be so that a roundabout will reduce the chances of accidents at this particular intersection, the GCLP believes that there are less expensive, and less intrusive solutions available to the NYS DOT which would could help alleviate this issue, while still respecting the individual rights of its citizens.
The GCLP urges the NYS DOT to explore those options, save the taxpayers undue expenses, and offer the Douglas family the security of knowing they are safe from government eviction.
The more I think about this,
The more I think about this, it almost doesn't meet the "public use" requirement either. East Rd and Broadway are already there and being used by the public. Building the round -a-bout doesn't create any more access, it's just changing the intersection. So if the Douglas's don't agree to sell, Eminent Domain does not apply.
The better solution would be
The better solution would be to remove the flashing red light that's there, and place a traffic light at that intersection.
Course too, this generation of "younger" drivers have their heads up their ass most of the time when they're driving, so it wouldn't matter what the DOT did to improve this intersection.
I agree with you Raymond,
I agree with you Raymond, although I'm not so sure it's all that generational. Seen plenty of head up their ass drivers who were older than me over my 38 years of driving.