President Trump has long promised to build a border wall and make Mexico pay for it. Sadly, he has made some progress in building the wall. Equally sad is the fact that many Americans are paying dearly for it. Their property is being destroyed and seized by the government that is supposed to be protecting…
On October 2, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott sent a letter to the Prime Minister of Japan voicing his support for the high speed railroad proposed to be built between Dallas and Houston by Texas Central Railroad. Texans Against High-Speed Rail, a group opposed to the project, contacted the governor and argued that he had been…
Elon Musk’s SpaceX is a contradiction. The company is showing what is possible when private companies tackle the problems of space travel. The company has had more than ninety fully successful missions and a partially successful mission delivering a payload to the international space station. One of the innovative features of the SpaceX rockets is…
One of the most vile premises underlying the border wall (and there are many) is the the few should be sacrificed for the many. Self-interest should be sacrificed for the “public interest.” The government’s seizure of private land is just one example of this premise in action. Most of the land needed for the border…
The Austin Statesman recently published an opinion piece about President Trump’s border wall that states, Trump has said he is ready to take land from uncooperative property owners through eminent domain [to build the wall]. That creates a dilemma for Trump’s conservative supporters. Which do they want more: A border wall? Or private property rights?…
The Trump Administration is reportedly preparing “Declaration of Taking” papers that would allow the federal government to seize private property in Texas for the border wall. While the government’s threat to seize land for the wall is nothing new, the “Declaration of Taking” is new. The government has long threatened to use eminent domain to…
SpaceX recently sent residents of Boca Chica Village, a small community about thirty miles east of Brownsville, offers to buy their homes for three times the appraised value. While many might consider this to be akin to manna from heaven, the residents of Boca Chica Village aren’t so thrilled about the offer. SpaceX has a…
The construction of pipelines in Texas seems to pit two of the state’s values against one another. The Texas economy is heavily dependent on oil and gas. The construction of pipelines to transport those products often results in the seizure of private property through eminent domain. Texans value property rights, and eminent domain is a…
Texas legislators have been struggling with eminent domain reform during this legislative session. While reform is needed, the bills that have been considered are founded on the same faulty premise as eminent domain. Two wrongs won’t protect property rights. Eminent domain is founded on the premise that private property can be seized for a “public…
Reforming the state’s eminent domain laws has attracted a lot of attention from Texas legislators and interest groups during this year’s legislative session. Unfortunately, there is a great deal of confusion over what property rights are. For example, Billy Howe of the Texas Farm Bureau was recently quoted: The legislature gave them [entities with eminent…
A new group has been formed to oppose the proposed bullet train between Dallas and Houston. ReRoute the Route–a coalition of land owners, elected officials and business leaders– is arguing that, “This project needs to be built right, using existing right of way and connecting to city centers; or not built at all.” In other…
With the Texas legislature in session, calls for reform of existing laws regarding property rights resound across the state. One of the primary targets is eminent domain. While the state’s current eminent domain laws certainly violate property rights and work against land owners, reform is not the solution. Reform means “to put or change into…