The Washington Examiner‘s Tim Carney points to news from The Hartford Courant that the development project at the center of the Fifth Amendment takings clause case Kelo v. City of New London has just been abandoned by Pfizer. Watch The CATO Institute’s recitation of the case: [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4N1svadJQ40[/youtube]
A key provision of proposed legislation to bailout General Motors and Chrysler, which say they are on the brink of insolvency, may be an unconstitutional taking of private property. The Takings Clause of the Constitution has been the subject of considerable public interest since the Supreme Court’s Kelo decision involving the taking of a private residence for the benefit of a pharmaceutical manufacturer. To protect taxpayers, the legislation requires that government loans to the automakers be given priority over all other debt held by the companies. In general, when a …
